Memories Unforgotten
by Kaiser dude
Summary: An OC takes up residence in the human village, but knows more about a new threat to Gensokyo than even Yukari knows about; they're Shadows, suppressed emotions taken physical form. He takes up a part time job as Kaguya's tutor. OC. Better summary inside. Pasts of some of Gensokyo's residents come back to them using shadows. Ten Desires Arc extra done. Hiatus
1. Human Village

DISCLAIMER: ZUN owns Touhou and its characters, I only own my OCs.

Full Summary: Some of Gensokyo's residents are faced with Shadows; their past or rejected selves. OC gets side-tracked, but into another situation instead of the rampage. Now, this OC helps Gensokyo get better prepared for the shadows. Arcs so far are OC (beginning), first part of Lunarians (Eientei), Ten Desires (First major arc), intermission (1 or 2 chapters for OC to teach new Persona users like Chen how to combat shadows), (Undecided arc), intermission, (undecided arc), intermission, (undecided arc), and the confrontation with Watatsuki sisters. That's the tentative plan, but it will change. Sanae Kochiya is already a Persona user (blame the fandom for having her be an otaku prior to Gensokyo), but she only gets two Personas. Persona fans, Chen's Persona, Nekomata, will be different from the standard one, having progressively better skills as she levels up, Sanae's Personas, Jiraiya and Konohana Sakuya will retain their skills and level up parameters.

* * *

><p>Reisen was leading Damion across Gensokyo towards Youkai Mountain. Along the way, Damion recapped his story to Reisen to help pass the time. After telling his story that he remembered so far, he changed the topic to other things.<p>

"Judging by your clothes, I take it you're a student at some private school?" Damion started.

"School? There are only a handful of schools in Gensokyo, but I don't think any of them are private schools. Besides, this is what I normally wear. Is there a reason for asking about my clothes?"

"No, I'm going to guess it's a culture difference between humans and youkai"'

"More like from an outsider who still needs to adjust to Gensokyo" Reisen retorted.

Damion was somewhat offended. "Couldn't you have worded that a little nicer? I only got here in Gensokyo an hour ago, and I STILL don't know my way around"

This time, Reisen backed down. "Sorry, I thought you were making fun of me about my outfit"

"Oh, so this is why you got defensive? My bad. Let's change the topic"

"Yeah"

Damion and Reisen were quiet for a moment. Reisen was upset over the misunderstanding, while Damion was mentally beating himself up for asking a stupid question.

Then, Reisen changed the topic to something more casual.

"In case you were wondering about what I was doing in town, I'm a medicine salesperson for Eirin. As for the weapons, they were standard issue pistols in from… training… in a faraway place" Reisen hesitated with the last part, not wanting to tell him the truth about where she really came from.

"Alright, but I can't help wondering what kind of 'training' you went through to get issued those guns" Damion asked with curiosity.

"I'd rather not talk about it"

"Okay. Sorry if I was prying too much"

"It's just that there's a reason why I don't want to talk about it. Just call it paranoia" Reisen laughed lightly.

"Fair enough. So, who's Eirin?" Damion asked, changing the subject once again.

"Eirin Yagokoro is a pharmacist who moved to Gensokyo a long time ago from… a faraway place… for personal reasons…but doesn't want to go back. As a result, she went into hiding here in Gensokyo and took up a job as a doctor/pharmacist due to her genius-level intelligence and extensive knowledge in medicine" Reisen explained enthusiastically.

"Sounds very interesting"

"It would be as cool as you think, if not for her hesitation to leave her office. I don't know why she stays at her house, but all I know is that it's hard to find her house. There's also another reason why she lives in a hard-to-find location; it so that… assassins or thieves… wouldn't harm, steal, or abduct her"

"Is there someone or something that you don't want others to know about?" Damion asked her, prying into the matter.

"I'm sorry, but I don't trust you enough to talk about it with you" Reisen answered.

* * *

><p>Then, the two arrived at the entrance to Youkai Mountain.<p>

"Here you go, Youkai Mountain. I hope you find whatever it is you're after, Damion. I still say you're either bold or stupid to want to venture into the home of Youkai that are out to eat humans" Reisen said to Damion.

"Sorry, but I'm curious as to what you do. I'll check out Youkai Mountain another time" Damion suddenly answered.

"_If it means he'll stay away from Youkai Mountain and avoid being eaten, then so be it_" Reisen thought to herself.

"Oh, alright. I was headed to the human village to sell Eirin's medicine and then return back to Eientei. That's all I'm really doing" Reisen answered.

With that, Reisen lead Damion to her destination.

During the walk to the human village, Reisen started a conversation of her own.

"Now that I think about it, do you know why you know that instant-death spell?"

Damion pondered the matter for a moment, hoping to jog his lost memories. Unfortunately, the attempt failed.

"I'm sorry. I still can't remember why I know this spell. If I knew why, then I probably would've been able to find out why I'm here in Gensokyo, too" Damion answered apologetically.

"It's not your fault; I think it might've been Yukari Yakumo's for trying out a new gap to bring people into Gensokyo that might've altered memories" Reisen speculated.

"Who's Yukari Yakumo?"

"Oh, her? She's a gap youkai that sleeps most of the time, and is said to have helped in the creation of the Hakurei Border. Unfortunately, she uses her gap powers ways that might be rude or inappropriate"

"In what ways would she use her powers?"

"She might sneak into where you are when you need to be alone for personal matters like… stuff… that people do when they're in heat. She might even pull you into one of her gaps if she's really bored and do who-knows-what when she abducts you. Or worse, she might open a gap _inside you_ and mess around with your intestines"

Damion shivered at the last thought.

"It's best you stay on her good side" Reisen added.

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind"

"One other thing; she's usually seen with her shikigami, Ran Yakumo, or her shikigami's shikigami, Chen"

"Shikigami?"

Reisen sighed in disappointment. "They're beings that serve the summoner" Reisen tried to explain in simple terms.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, but Yukari's Shikigami was strong enough to get her own shikigami, Chen, so now Yukari's got, say, two shikigamis, in a sense. Does this make any sense?"

"So it's like saying Chen is Ran's bitch, who is Yukari's bitch's bitch?"

"That's a very crude way of saying it, but you have the right idea" Reisen shot back somewhat angrily.

"Sorry, I couldn't think of the right word at the time. My apologies, Reisen" Damion apologized.

"I see"

"**Who's a bitch!**" came a booming voice around the area.

"Oh crap, it's Yukari!" Reisen said to Damion.

A gap opened next to the two travelers, and out popped a blonde woman who looked to be in her thirties. In her hand was a paper fan that was traditional to Japan. Behind the woman was another girl who looked like a fox/human hybrid.

Reisen hid behind Damion in fear of the gap youkai.

"Wait, this is Yukari Yakumo?" Damion asked, looking at Reisen, and then at the two coming out of the gap.

The fox/human hybrid girl shyly hid behind the blonde woman upon seeing the young man.

Yukari was royally pissed off when she came out of the gap, and she still is after looking at Damion.

"Yes, I am. Now then, what did you just call me!" Yukari yelled at him.

"I didn't call you anything. I was trying to figure out what 'shikigami' were and didn't think of the right word to describe them" Damion shouted back to Yukari.

Damion and Yukari stared at one another with eyes locked onto one another, as though waiting for a single moment to kill one another.

"Yukari, would you mind letting me explain what shikigami are to this young man?" the fox/human hybrid girl hiding behind Yukari asked her master.

Yukari turned to look at her shikigami, and then backed off, slightly less angry. Once Yukari was out of the way, the shikigami bowed politely and introduced herself.

"My name is Ran Yakumo. As you can probably guess, I am Yukari-sama's shikigam. Shikigami come in a variety of forms, shapes, and usefulness. Shikigami are beings that are summoned by humans, youkai, demons, or other strong, magical beings to serve their summoner" Ran explained to him.

Damion took in the information calmly and efficiently.

"As for what I am, I'm a kyuubi youkai. Kyuubi being nine-tail fox youkai. As Reisen mentioned, I have a shikigami of my own, named Chen. Unfortunately, Chen does not have a shikigami of her own, nor does she have the strength to get one of her own" Ran added, talking more about herself.

"Oh, so that's what shikigami are. Are they like maids, butlers, slaves, or servants?" Damion asked them.

Ran became defensive upon being asked the question. "No, we're not maids, butlers, or slaves. Those words are rather derogatory and offensive to shikigami. Servants would probably be the most accurate word that we shikigami tolerate"

"I'm sorry, but I'm kind of new to the idea; I was taught very little about youkai and demons back in my home world" Damion replied apologetically.

"Hmph, if you're done explaining what shikigami are, Ran, then why don't you teach him some manners in front of me?" Yukari demanded.

"Not exactly the first impression I would give to people I just meet. It's more like terrorism than just a spoiled, rotten princess having a temper tantrum" Damion shot back sarcastically.

This enraged Yukari even more.

"Yukari-sama, please let me handle this" Ran begged her master.

Fortunately, Yukari stepped back into her gap to let Ran do the talking for her.

"I'm sorry about Yukari, but it seems she overheard your 'mistake' at the wrong time. She was having a bad day with Chen learning to take over my chores for the day, and Chen messing up so many things that should've just been simple tasks. Please don't view her attack on you as a personal grudge" Ran politely asked him.

Damion nodded. "If that's the case, then I sincerely apologize. Had I known you and Yukari were having a bad day, I would've chosen my words more carefully" Damion apologized to Ran.

Suddenly, Yukari came out of the gap, pushing Ran aside. Fortunately, she seemed to have calmed down after hearing Damion's sincere apology.

"Hmph, I forgive you now that you know what was troubling me today" Yukari huffed before retreating into her gap.

Reisen came out from behind Damion and bowed to Ran. Ran bowed back in return.

"Oh, by the way, what youkai is Chen?" Damion asked Ran suddenly.

"Oh, Chen is a Nekomata. Her power is advanced black magic, and she works for both Yukari and myself" Ran explained.

"Okay, sorry to have bothered and/or upset you" Damion shot back, bowing.

Ran bowed back and retreated into the gap that Yukari made. After both Yukari and Ran retreated back into the gap, Yukari closed the gap behind them.

Damion sighed a breath of relief, but then he noticed Reisen being terrified.

"What's wrong, Reisen?" Damion asked out of concern.

Reisen perked up from being called, and sighed a breath of relief after realizing that Yukari and Ran were gone.

"You scared me, Damion. I thought you were going to be killed by Yukari because of your lack-of-a-better-word moment. Please, don't make fun of or insult Yukari Yakumo because we never know when she's awake and listening to us" Reisen advised him.

Damion apologized to her and had her lead the way, once again, to the human village.

This time, Damion brought up another conversation, completely unrelated to the previous one.

"So, the weather is rather nice, isn't it?" Damion asked.

"That's not quite a question that will lead to a meaningful conversation. It's more like asking a question that only leads to an obvious answer" Reisen shot back.

"I see, sorry. I don't know what else to talk about while we travel" Damion replied honestly.

Reisen just smiled at this, then commented about it. "You're quite honest. Most youkai aren't true to themselves or others, and they like to lie a lot unless it's serious business"

"I try to be honest whenever possible unless there's a really, REALLY good reason for me to lie. For example, having to lie to keep someone safe from harm would be one of those times I would definitely lie. Another time would be if I had to act as a distraction to allow an opportunity to let someone important get to safety" Damion replied.

"Alright then, let me ask you this: Do you believe there is civilization on the moon that aren't humans?" Reisen asked, opening up to Damion a little because of how he stood up to Yukari and the misunderstanding.

"Civilization, on the moon, that aren't people? It's been speculation for us humans for a while, similar to one belief that there were martians. Unfortunately, the belief became a popular topic for fantasy stories on television, stories, and games in the human world"

"That's not exactly what I'm asking. Do you believe there exists a civilization on the moon that isn't human?"

"Oh, I personally am not sure what to believe. I know Gensokyo is a different place, so I would imagine that there would be. Given, I'm in a completely different world where almost anything can happen"

"I see. Sorry for asking you that strange question"

"There is a civilization, huh?" Damion suddenly asked.

"Huh! What makes you say that?"

"Psychology. When a question is asked a certain way after a sense of trust is established between individuals, that means they're testing the other person's ideology behind something before revealing an important fact"

"Ugh, it's like you can read my mind, similar to Satori Komeji's power"

"Who's Satori?"

"Oh, she's currently Gensokyo's only mind-reader with a natural ability to do so. She can also read a person's heart. In other words, you're like an open book if you come across her" Reisen added.

"I guess she uses the magical method of reading minds, whereas psychology is not as reliable but gets similar results as actual mind-reading"

"I guess psychology can't match up to Satori's power"

"You're probably right, but psychology is more like reading another's body behavior, what the other person says and how they say it, as well as the circumstances around the individual around the time when they say things…"

"Like I said before, my brain hurts trying to figure out what you are saying about psychology" Reisen interrupted.

Damion realized he used too many words. "Oh, sorry. Let's just call psychology a 'hunch' based on circumstances around the individual"

"A hunch huh? That seems to make sense, though it doesn't have the same 'feel' of importance"

"It's as simple as I can say, without confusing you with the technical details" Damion admitted.

Reisen smiled though. "So, what 'hunch' were you getting at with what I tried to say?"

Damion smirked and gave his answer: "You were trying to tell me that there is a civilization on the moon, but you weren't sure how to break the news to me. Deciding to use the indirect approach, you introduced me to the idea to get my thoughts. I think that hunch should be detailed enough"

"Holy… psychology is a scary thing to go up against. You practically read my mind"

"Unfortunately, psychology is mostly deductions based on details that you are given, and have to consider details that are not told"

"Deduction?"

"It's mostly putting together information to create new facts that are consistent, or true based on the facts that made them up"

"How does deduction work?"

* * *

><p>Before Damion could begin his explanation of deduction, they were stopped by someone in the middle of the road. Behind the woman in front of them was vast, open plains that looked big enough to be the foundation of a big village.<p>

The woman in front of Damion and Reisen. This woman was wearing a blue dress with an unusual-looking hat that seems like a small house. On the hat was a big red ribbon and another ribbon below the collar of her shirt. She has silver hair with blue highlights.

"Ah, hello Reisen" the woman greeted.

"Hello. This is Damion, a human friend who seems to be able to hold his own against the rampaging monsters" Reisen answered, introducing Damion.

"Ah, a human male? That's certainly rare in Gensokyo. Come in, come in. Let me just return the human village's history so we can enter" the woman answered.

"Wait, return the history of a village? How does that even work?" Damion asked.

"Oh, pardon me. My name is Keine Kamishirasawa. I am a teacher of the human village school, as well as the guardian of the village. It's a pleasure to meet a new human" Keine bowed and then began to work her magic.

Keine, before starting the procedure to put the human village's existence back, changed into her EX form. Slowly but surely, Damion saw considerable change in Keine; Her clothes changed color from blue to green. She began to grow a pair of horns with her left horn adorning a red ribbon. Also, her silver hair with blue highlights changed slightly to silver with green highlights Aside from that, there weren't that many changes to Keine's appearances.

"What youkai are you!" Damion asked in surprise.

EX Keine chanted some incantations that Damion did not understand. To Damion, it sounded like a mixture of Latin, Greek, and a variety of other languages that Humankind has used over the course of history. Once the chanting was finished, the entire human village started to appear as if ceasing to being invisible.

"Holy cow!" Damion practically yelled when he saw EX Keine's power.

"There, this is the human village" EX Keine said to Damion after walking Reisen and the young man into said village.

Keine, after using her EX form's power, reverted back to her human form.

"As for what youkai I am, I'm a were-hakutaku. Please don't mention this to the human villagers, as it may lead them to panic, learning that there's a youkai in the village" Keine asked the young man.

"Then, what about Reisen?" Damion asked.

"Oh, I told the humans that she's a human cosplayer who makes medicinal deliveries" Keine answered.

"I kind of have a hard time believing that"

Keine suddenly fell silent. Damion noticed this too.

"What's wrong, Keine?" Damion asked.

"It's just that the humans, despite my efforts to try and convince them that not all youkai are bad, fail to understand that there are youkai that help or enjoy the presence of humans without ill intent or selfish desires" Keine admitted.

"In other words, It's almost futile to show the humans in the village the good youkai" Reisen added.

"I'm sorry, but the mere mention of a youkai near the village scares the humans into panic. I told them that I'm a magician who has the power to hide the village with my magic, and make it seem nonexistent to other youkai. Believe me, I tried to establish a positive feel for youkai, but the men that go hunting get eaten by the youkai they hunt. I end up having to learn from the surviving men that return that some of the men that they go hunting with end up eaten. It pains me to tell the families of the men that their fathers or husbands got eaten by youkai" Keine explained. She was crying while explaining this to Damion.

Suddenly, Damion wrapped his arms around Keine, embracing her. Unfortunately, this act of kindness did not go over well with Reisen Udongein Inaba.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing to Keine!" Reisen yelled quietly to Damion.

Damion hushed her and explained, "Some humans hug one another like this to show support for others in distress of some sort"

Damion then turned to Keine in his arms.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Keine. If you need to cry, let it all out" Damion said to Keine gently.

Taking him up on the offer, Keine began shedding tears at the memories of telling the families the bad news.

"There there, Keine" Damion whispered to her.

After what seemed like a minute, Keine stopped crying and apologized to Damion. "I'm sorry, I'm usually more composed than this, but it really pains me to be the bearer of bad news to the people of the village." Keine apologized.

"Alright, Damion. Please elaborate on what you just did to my friend" Reisen asked the young man sternly.

"It's okay, Reisen. Like Damion said, it's a human thing to show support for others. Besides, leaning on someone for help, both literally and figuratively, is actually one of the most important things to do to show your support" Keine explained for Damion

"Please refrain from doing that, it makes me think you're suddenly taking advantage of her" Reisen countered.

"Well, I'm sorry but some humans act without thinking of the consequences. This was one of those moments where my sympathy took over and acted before me realizing what I was doing. AFTER I realized what I was doing, then I went along with it, thinking I was trying to show support, Reisen" Damion argued back.

"I'm sorry it seemed like a misunderstanding, Reisen" Keine apologized.

Then, Reisen understood what happened; it was a culture difference issue for Reisen, since she never really understood human emotions and how humans support one another in times of need.

"I'm sorry. I guess it's my lack of understanding of humans that caused me to misunderstand" Reisen admitted.

Then, after apologies were made and misunderstandings were cleared, the three of them entered the human village.

* * *

><p>Inside the human village, the buildings were mostly made of wood and bamboo. The designs had a modern feel and look to them, but the material says otherwise. Some of the buildings in a newer part of the human village looked like it was being constructed with more familiar materials that Damion was used to; concrete and bricks.<p>

Damion wasn't surprised to see the majority of the humans to be female, with a few men spotted every now and then.

Keine noticed Damion's expression from looking around the village. "I'm sorry there aren't many men in the human village. Most of the men go hunting for food outside the village, or play outside the village but not too far, or just hardly show up in Gensokyo" Keine explained to Damion.

The looks that Damion were getting from the females were making him nervous.

"I have to get to work, so I'll come find you once I'm done" Reisen said to Damion before leaving to do her business.

This left Damion alone with Keine, and travelling through the human village.

"Oh, don't mind the girls' stares. They're just curious about a new face, that's all" Keine assured Damion.

Unfortunately, the comment didn't help Damion's uneasiness.

"Sorry, even with the knowledge that they're curious, I can't help shake the feeling it's more than curiosity in their eyes and minds" Damion answered honestly

"What do you mean, 'more than curiosity in their minds'? Are you like Satori Komeji who reads minds and hearts?" Keine asked, as though hearing a shocking fact.

"No, but it's something I learned in psychology about the situation I'm in"

"Psychology? Can you tell me about psychology, and more about yourself after class? I have to get back to teaching very soon as the children are currently in recess" Keine informed him.

"Oh, do you mind letting me see the school?" Damion asked her.

"Sure. Perhaps you can tell the kids about where you came from" Keine replied happily.

Damion, unfortunately, looked down in sadness.

"There's a problem with me talking about where I came from" Damion muttered somewhat melancholically.

"Oh, is it something painful?"

"Actually, my story, that I remember so far, is quite a sad one that I don't feel comfortable talking to children about. They wouldn't understand half of what I went through, nor would their parents like what I would tell them" Damion warned.

"Oh, you're going to have to tell me that story"

Then, the two of them arrived at the school. It was aptly called "Kamishirasawa School"

* * *

><p>Keine led Damion into the school, up the stairs to the second floor, and into a classroom that had her nameplate on the door to the classroom.<p>

"Please, if you don't mind, tell me about your story" Keine asked him, seating herself at her table.

Damion told her everything that he remembered. His creation by a god to be a participant in a 'game' that the god set up to find a successor to his throne and powers, his journey in the tournament and the friends he made, the Heinz Dilemma at the end of the tournament, the prize for winning that tournament on top of being successor to the throne and powers, the tough decision he had to make after learning what he WANTED to do with the god's powers but ended up sacrificing his friends to escape the destruction of his home world. And most importantly, his regret over killing his friends.

"That's… just too terrible!" Keine commented on his story, feeling sadness for the second time today.

"I know, but I don't remember anything past that. I don't know if it's because of amnesia, or because of something else that I can't remember"

"Do you mind if we change the subject?" Damion offered.

Keine nodded upon being asked the question. It also helped calm Keine of her sadness from hearing the story.

"So, what was it that you wanted to talk about instead?" Keine asked.

"It's been on my mind since I got here and since I talked to Reisen about this"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Do the schools here in Gensokyo teach psychology?"

This question seemed like a new, unknown subject that Keine had no idea about.

"Um, I don't exactly know. What is psychology anyway?"

Damion sighed and gave her a crash course on the matter. "It's a subject used by humans in the human worlds to help them understand the actions, thoughts, and motivations behind what other humans do and say. In addition…"

"Sorry to interrupt, but you said 'understand the actions, **thoughts**, and motivation'? Is it like knowing how to read minds similar to Satori?"

Damion was somewhat upset by being interrupted, but he let it slide.

"I don't know who Satori Komeji is, but I'm going to assume she uses magic to read minds. If that is the case, then psychology is like a lesser version of mind reading from magic, only from a scientific method that involves deduction and reasoning instead of magic"

Keine had the look of confusion, similar to Reisen when Damion tried explaining to her.

"Let's just call it a 'hunch' based on facts that are told and facts that you have to think deeper about" Damion gave her the same answer he gave Reisen.

"So it's a hunch? That doesn't really sound impressive"

"For lack of a better word at the time anyway. Let's just say that it's putting together facts that you hear from someone and then gathering more facts that the other person doesn't tell you. Let me give you an example of how psychology works…"

Unfortunately, Damion was interrupted by the school bell, and the children playing around from recess stormed into the classroom and took their seats.

Damion had the look of nostalgia, as he remembered protecting a child back in his home world, but then Keine noticed Damion's expression.

"Either you have a soft spot for kids, or you're a pedophile"

This comment pissed off Damion.

"I am not a pedophile. I don't know why, but the sight of children playing, and growing up in a safe and lively environment just makes me feel like an old man who's enjoying his last moments of life" Damion shot back defensively.

"Oh, can't you take a joke?"

"Sorry, but I don't take kindly to being called a pervert or pedophile. Please refrain from teases or jokes like that or I might just go crazy with my spells"

The last part of that comment surprised Keine.

"Oh, so you're a danmaku user?"

"No, I'm a magician of sorts, thought I don't remember how I got my powers"

"I see. Let's talk more about this later, as I have class to teach" Keine ended the conversation right there.

She turned her attention to the class and welcomed them back from recess.

"Today, class, I will be introducing you to a friend who came from outside Gensokyo. Meet Damion" Keine introduced Damion to her students.

Damion bowed his head and briefly introduced himself. "My name is Damion, and I'm new to Gensokyo. Like Keine, I also use magic, but not as powerful as her"

Damion became popular with the boys, but some of the girls weren't amused.

"Damion-san, what magic do you know?" one of the young boys asked him.

Damion forgot one important thing; he mustn't tell them that he knows instant-death spell, or he might frighten the children. He did, however, come up with an answer to their question.

"Damion-san, how did you find the human village?"

"Damion-san, do you like anyone in Gensokyo?"

"Damion-san, do you hunt youkai?"

Damion was being bombarded with questions faster than he could come up with an appropriate answer to each one.

Keine noticed the troubled expression Damion had from being asked so many questions, and she hushed the class. "Class, please! One at a time. Can't you see Damion-san is troubled by being asked so many questions?"

With the support he got from Keine, Damion was able to calm down and think his answers through.

"As for magic that I know, I know darkness and fire magic so far" Damion answered the first question.

"Oh, magic similar to Rumia-chan and Mokou-chan?" Keine asked him.

"Who are they?"

Keine leaned in towards Damion's ear and whispered a little about them both. "_Rumia is a youkai that eats humans and can manipulate darkness to where she can enshroud herself in said darkness. Fujiwara No Mokou is a friend of mine who sometimes visits the human village to play with the children, and her power is the resistance to and manipulation of fire_"

"Oh, okay. No, I'm not that skilled enough to be on par with Rumia or Fujiwara no Mokou in terms of master of ability. Sorry, but I'm not as strong as them" Damion admitted honestly.

Damion's popularity with the boys dwindled a bit from his comment. Damion noticed the disappointment in the children, and asked them, "What, do you expect a newcomer to Gensokyo to be all-powerful and able to overpower each and every youkai he or she meets?"

The response Damion got wasn't exactly what he expected; the kids nodded 'yes' to Damion's question.

"Well, sorry to disappoint. I'm not an all-powerful person; I'm just a person who learned enough magic to fight some youkai" Damion admitted.

The reaction Damion got from the kids weren't exactly the kind he would expect.

"Anyway, for the second question I was asked, I found the human village by meeting Reisen I helped her fight off some youkai, and we became friends from there"

Some of the girls in the class grew slightly jealous at Damion's answer.

"As for the third question, whether I like anyone in Gensokyo, I cannot say because I don't know anyone that well. I told you, I just got here, and it would be crazy for me to just fall in love with the first person I see"

Damion's answer was understood by the children, and made sense to them.

"As for the fourth question, whether I hunt youkai, I don't exactly hunt youkai for fun; I hunt them if I'm the one being hunted. I only hunt youkai if I need to survive and stay alive"

Like the question before, Damion's answer made sense to the children.

One by one, the class got a chance to ask one question to Damion, and get to learn about him. The questions ranged from deep questions like what Damion did before coming to Gensokyo, to simple questions like if he had friends that came to Gensokyo.

One question he was asked was the one question he did not want to answer; "Damion, have you ever killed anyone?"

Damion fell silent from that question.

Keine also noticed the silence Damion was giving. She remembered Damion's story of how he erased the existence of his enemies and friends by destroying their 'diaries' that also kept them tied to their lives.

"I'm sorry, but he's not sure how to answer that question. Who else has a question?" Keine answered for Damion, trying to dodge the question.

The class started becoming uneasy from Damion's silence to that one question.

"Sorry, but can you tell me what you mean by killed? Do you mean people, animals, or youkai?" Damion asked the child.

"I meant people of course" the child clarified.

Damion looked down, and answered, "I would never kill a friend I make"

Keine knew he was lying to protect his image in front of the children, and in fact, protect himself from being shunned or being chased out of the village. If the children knew the truth about what Damion did to his friends back in his home world, he would be chased out of the village even before establishing a positive relationship with the people of the village. That, and it would be next-to-impossible to explain his story in a way that the children would understand.

"He's been through a lot; he told me about what happened to him, and it's not a happy story. That, and some of his memories are missing" Keine vaguely explained to the class.

The atmosphere in the class suddenly became tense.

"I'm sorry if I don't seem like a nice person; I'm just misunderstood, and I'm not comfortable talking about what I went through. You kids probably would never understand what I would tell you anyway" Damion said to the class, bowing.

"Damion, why don't you take a seat next to my seat? I think it's time for me to continue the lessons with the children." Keine suggested, seating Damion in a chair next to her desk.

The class being taught was what Damion would expect; elementary level education for the children. The class was being taught basic mental math, English, history in very detailed explanations, science, and Physical Education.

Damion already knew all the course materials that were being taught to the kids, but he was somewhat unhappy, recalling the things he did to his friends back in his home world; the Heinz Dilemma he was forced into.

Unfortunately for Keine, the class was mostly distracted by a distressed Damion.

Keine noticed this as well, and suggested that Damion freshen up in the bathroom. "I'm sorry, Damion, but can you go to the bathroom and straighten up? The children are more concerned about you than they are about their education"

Taking her up on the suggestion, Damion did just that, and left the classroom.

It took him a while to find the bathroom, being new to the human village and all.

* * *

><p>In the bathroom, Damion rinsed his face several times. He also had to tell himself that it wasn't his fault for what he did.<p>

"_It's not my fault, it's not my fault, IT'S NOT MY DAMN FAULT THAT I WAS FORCED TO KILL THEM!_" Damion kept telling himself periodically. "_Every time I think about that moment where I had to choose between the game happening again and having to do my friends in… DAMN IT!_"

Splashing his face again in water, he tried his best to forget about the past. Unfortunately, trying to forget the past only made his mental suffering worse.

"_Why did fate have to make me choose between two extremely difficult choices! IT'S JUST NOT FAIR!_" Damion mentally cursed aloud in his mind. Even more difficult was that he realized he wasn't alone in the bathroom.

He heard a toilet being flushed behind him in one of the stalls, and turned to see who it was. He settled down after seeing that it was only a child.

"Onii-san, are you alright?" the child asked him after seeing the troubled expression on Damion's face.

Damion realized why the child asked him that, and he knelt down to pat the child's head.

"I'm alright. Thanks for asking. It's just that I was thinking about what happened to me that was so sad" Damion answered the kid.

"Are you sure? Your face says that you look like you've had your heart broken by someone you loved" the young boy asked.

Damion knew that hiding the truth was only going to get the child curious, so he told the boy this white lie, "Yes, I've had my heart broken by something terrible. What happened is something that you probably will never understand. It's not that I loved someone and broke up with her, but it's just something that happened that was beyond my control. Thank you for your concern… um, who are you?"

"Suzaku, like the phoenix in Chinese mythology" the child answered him somewhat enthusiastically.

"Alright, Suzaku, thank you for your concern" Damion thanked the young boy for his support.

The boy left the bathroom after saying 'goodbye' to Damion.

The support Damion got from the child seemed to help him calm down enough to accept the fact that he can't keep thinking about the past.

"_I guess relying on someone and sharing one's past with others is something I, myself, need to do instead of shouldering the pain of the past by myself… I'm such a hypocrite for sympathizing with others without realizing that I can ask others for help_" Damion thought to himself.

Then, when Damion finished realizing his mistake of shouldering his past by himself, he felt a certain familiar surge of power rush into him; it was an all-too-familiar form of power that Damion forgot.

Damion clutched his head in response to the sudden feel of power rush into him from remembering that he wasn't alone. Damion couldn't remember what this power was, but it felt very, VERY familiar to him.

Then, Damion saw something that looked like a hallucination: He saw a shadowy version of himself.

The sight of a darker version of himself was terrifying.

"**I am you, and there's no denying it**" Shadow Damion said with an evil grin.

Damion, in fear of this, ran out of the school and raced for the exit to the human village.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER<p>

Author's notes:

As I was writing this side-story, I felt that I was going to stick with the parent story's RPG style battle, but now that I've brought in the Persona theme into the story (Curse my obsession with the Persona 3 and Persona 4 games). So… yeah… I've decided at the last minute to make this a crossover with Persona 4 and then expand on the parent story's RPG battle system and change it to more Persona-like battle instead of Final Fantasy battle (Even though the main battle system between the two games remains the same, I'll just stick with Touhou style Persona 4 combat system. Cut me some slack, folks!)


	2. Shadow Damion

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Persona or Touhou. I only own Damion and my OCs.

Author's note: As I was writing this, I was crying for Damion. I mean, it was difficult to write what was going on through Damion's mind and what he was feeling. The hardest part about writing this chapter was writing the truths that Damion had to accept from his shadow self, and the harassment that Shadow Damion was doing to Damion. It pained me to have to put Damion through this, but I had to. This chapter may have been OC centric, but I promise you that other characters WILL have their moments facing their true selves, and it'll be their chapter to be focused on.

* * *

><p>Damion was running as fast as his legs could take him. Behind the young man was his shadowy self. Shadow Damion was chasing Damion evilly, as though having plans to harass, torture, or do things that are worse.<p>

The villagers that caught sight of Damion being chased by his Shadow Self caught interest of the villagers. Some of them even gave chase to Damion and his Shadow Self out of curiosity. Among the people chasing them was Keine Kamishirasawa.

Outside the human village, Keine was busy trying to keep the humans from leaving to see what was wrong.

The humans that did manage to escape the village to be spectators were forced back in, with threats of being put into exile from the village. This didn't stop the humans' curiosity of why there were two Damions.

"Please leave me alone with this faker. I lured him out of the village to protect you from whatever he might be planning" Damion yelled to the humans that tried to leave.

Fortunately, Keine managed to get all the humans back into the village and then quickly used her power to hide the history of the village, trapping the humans in the village.

"You better have a good reason… for that… why are there two of you?" Keine asked, surprised to see two Damions.

"**I followed you out of the village to avoid getting unnecessary lives involved, but now it's time for you to face the facts about yourself**" Shadow Damion declared.

"What is there for me to face about myself? I've already accepted the fact that I can't change the past" Damion answered his shadow self.

"Damion, what's going on here!" Keine yelled to the two Damions.

"**She asks what's going on, but she doesn't have a damn clue about what you just remembered. You are actually thinking about keeping this a secret from her and that playboy bunny girl you saved**" Shadow Damion said to Damion condescendingly.

"What! Why do you know this information? Not unless…"

"**Unless… I AM YOU!**"

Damion fell silent from hearing what his shadow self said. Damion didn't want to believe the simple fact that he was actually facing his emotions that took physical form to confront him directly.

"What's going on, Damion!" Keine asked again, this time yelling.

"**I'll just spare this bitch the trouble and tell her**" Shadow Damion said to Damion, then turned to Keine and told her, "**I am his inner self, the part of him that he forgot and suppressed. I know EVERYTHING Damion knows because I AM HIM**" Shadow Damion answered Keine.

Keine was taken aback by Shadow Damion's response to her question.

"Damn it, you're wrong. I don't know about myself because I don't simply don't know" Damion shot back.

"**Face it, you're WEAK, and rely on your magic to get around. You're making friends to help you learn about this dangerous world called Gensokyo, and you're just plain AFRAID of everything**" Shadow Damion declared aloud. He was dead serious on spilling the truth to himself, and making him come to terms with reality.

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU FAKER! I'm not as weak as you say I am" Damion yelled back to his shadow self.

"**Then go ahead and say the magic words that will spell your demise. Come on, I dare you to say it!**" Shadow Damion provoked.

Unfortunately, Damion fell for the provocation. "YOU'RE NOT ME!"

There was silence between the three individuals. Keine Kamishirasawa was shocked by the sudden outburst Damion yelled.

In addition, the atmosphere between Keine, Damion, and Damion's Shadow Self grew intense and heavy.

Then, Shadow Damion began laughing hysterically.

"**Heheheheheheh, Ahahahahahaha! That's right, say it again! You know I'm telling the truth, and you don't want others to hate you for the truth. That's why you repressed and forgot about me; the past self that you committed murder to your best friends in order to 'break the cycle of life and death' from that damn tournament that god set up**" Shadow Damion taunted.

"Damn it, THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL THAT YOU COULD EVER BE ME, EVEN WITH MY FACE AND POWERS!" Damion yelled at the top of his lungs. His anger was at his peak, mostly from his shadow self revealing his inner thoughts to Keine.

"Damion, what the hell?" Keine asked out of shock.

"**Oh, now you're starting to realize the MONSTER that Damion REALLY is. He's a servant of DEATH, whose life was spared at the expense of his former master, Deus Ex Machina, and was taken in by the DEATHs of every world. That's what he REALLY is. A necromancer with a terrifying magic spell that causes INSTANT DEATH to anyone he wishes that CAN be killed**" Shadow Damion said aloud.

"What? A necromancer? That's what I was?" Damion asked his shadow self. He reacted as though he learned something so important that it could've changed everything. However, his response was for the worse.

"**Tsk, tsk, tsk. You actually forgot that was your wish when you escaped your home world using Deus's reward from the tournament! How despicable!**"

"I-I can't believe… that actually happened… Yuno, Yukiteru… I'm so sorry!" Damion was on the verge of breaking down mentally.

That was when Keine decided to intervene.

"Look, just who the hell do you think you are, claiming to know Damion, spouting lies about him, and harassing him with his terrible past?" Keine yelled to Shadow Damion.

"**Don't get involved, bitch! This conflict is between Damion, his past, and reality. Stay the hell out of this affair if you know what's good for you!**" Shadow Damion threatened Keine.

"No, he's right" Damion muttered in defeat.

"What!" Keine asked him. She thought Damion lost his mind.

"He's right… I killed my friends out of selfishness to live…"

*SLAP*

Keine slapped Damion hard across the face before Damion could continue his melancholic talks.

"SO THAT'S ALL YOU'RE GOING TO DO! MOPE AROUND BECAUSE OF A DIFFICULT CHOICE THAT COST YOU YOUR FRIENDS IN THE PAST! WAKE UP, DAMION! YOU ARE TOO ATTACHED TO THE PAST TO LET IT GO!" Keine roared at Damion.

"**It's no use, bitch. He's too attached to his friends back then and he blames himself for killing them**" Shadow Damion said to Keine.

"Thanks for the wake-up call, Keine. I completely forgot about this a second time; I'm not alone in the present" Damion suddenly said, somewhat more cheerful. He realized that he forgot that he's in a new world, making new friends, and learning to cope with his past with people he can ask for support.

"**No way, you should be in despair over your friends' deaths!**" Shadow Damion reminded Damion.

"You're right. I do regret killing them, and I still blame myself, but there's one thing you left out: I was forced to do so given the circumstances and knowledge that I learned from Deus about the choices I was given" Damion argues back confidently.

"**That may be true, but that doesn't justify murdering your friends so you could escape. It was either you let them kill you, and continue the cycle of that damn tournament, or kill your friends to break that cycle, and cause the end of your home world**" Shadow Damion countered.

"Ugh, damn it" Damion realized he was cornered with that argument.

"Damion!" Keine screamed.

"**Just admit it: I know EVERYTHING about you and what you're going to say. That's because… I AM YOU!**" Shadow Damion reminded him.

"Damn it, I can't take this anymore" Damion said in fear.

"**Just say those magic words again, and I'll put you out of your misery**" Shadow Damion taunted.

"Damion, NO!" Keine yelled.

There was silence for a moment, and then Damion gave his definite answer.

"You're still not me, despite spouting nonsense that I refuse to believe happened, I cannot accept you desecrating my name, ruining the positive relationship with the people of Gensokyo before I can even get a chance to establish them. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO BE ME, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY!" Damion yelled at his shadow self.

Damion's shadow self began laughing. The darkness in the surrounding areas began rushing towards Shadow Damion, covering him in said darkness, absorbing that darkness into power for Damion's shadow self.

"**You've done it now. There's no turning back at this point, Damion. You are SO dead now!**" Shadow Damion cackled as the darkness he was absorbing gave Shadow Damion a new form.

Shadow Damion transformed from a replica of Damion into a being of death.

This new form of Shadow Damion was that of a ghost wearing a tattered, deathly black robe cloak. There were two chains surrounding the body, crossed in the middle of the cloak. On both hands were long barrel revolver rifles. Where the head should be was a brown sack with holes for where the eyes would be.

"What is that monstrosity?" Keine asked in fear.

Unfortunately, the bigger problem was that Damion lost his energy, and collapsed to the floor, struggling to regain consciousness. Rather, Shadow Damion's transformation took out a lot of energy from its real self, Damion, in order to transform into what it was right now.

Keine, thinking fast, turned to her EX Form to restore the human village's existence, and ran in. After restoring the human village's existence, she quickly reverted back to human form. Fortunately, the humans that once tried to get out to see what was happening seemed to have forgotten about the event.

"**Even your new friend… Keine, was it… Ran away, leaving you behind to die. You really ARE alone in this new world, Damion. Just admit this and die peacefully**" Shadow Damion taunted Damion.

Damion was struggling to stay conscious during this important time, and was beginning to lose hope.

"_So this is how I die, huh? It's kind of a pathetic way to diei_" Damion thought to himself.

*BANG* *BANG*

Two gunshots came from behind Damion. The bullets that were fired hit Shadow Damion, knocking the shadowy doppelganger stumbling backwards.

"Are you alright, Damion?"

Damion recognized the voice to belong to Reisen Udongein Inaba.

Getting up, Damion looked back to see Keine return to her human form to hide the human village once again.

Reisen took out a bottle of medicine and told Damion to drink it. Damion, despite his weak condition, did as told and downed the bottle.

The result was his energy being restored, and his strength returning to him.

"Thank you for the help, but why would you help me when my opponent is actually my inner self given physical form?" Damion asked Reisen and Keine.

"What are you talking about? That thing doesn't look like you at all" Reisen pointed out.

"Actually, Reisen, it DID look exactly like Damion before it transformed into this… monstrosity" Keine added.

"Whatever. So, what did this 'thing' do to put you in this condition?" Reisen asked Damion.

"I'll explain later" Damion said to Reisen.

"You do that. I demand an explanation behind that 'thing' and why you said it was you" Reisen added before readying her guns for battle.

Keine turned back into her EX form for battle. She was armed with magic and her claws.

Damion, readied himself for battle against himself with his magic, his fists, and his feet.

*Reisen and EX Keine joined Damion's team as guest fighters*

* * *

><p>## Battle against Shadow Damion ##<p>

"**I am a shadow, the TRUE self… You're all talk, weak, and dependant on others in this new world to help guarantee your own survival**" Shadow Damion declared at the start of the battle.

"That may be true, but I resolve to be able to stand on my own feet, fight for my own survival, and then become independent enough to survive this world!" Damion shouted back at his shadow self.

"**Heh heh, you say that now, but I doubt you'll be able to survive if you can't overcome your biggest obstacle; yourself!**" Shadow Damion pointed out.

"Sh-shut up! I'll prove to you, myself, that I can pull my weight and survive in this world!" Damion yelled back.

Starting the battle, Damion cast 'Scan' on his shadow self.

Various information became clear about his shadow self:

He's a weakling who has relied on others for help, and was forced to kill the very friends he made in order to escape his home world that was very unstable. He was created by a god to be a contestant in a 'game' that would help the god find a successor to his throne AND powers, but he also put up a reward for the 'game', a wish would be granted before the world blows up. Desperate to survive, he asked his god to do two things as his reward for surviving the 'game'; giving Damion the power of necromancy, and to be sent away from his home world. Deus Ex Machine, the god he was created by, granted Damion his wish, and sent Damion into a time-space rift out of his world. During his travels in the space-time rift, he was lonely, and contemplating the dilemma he was in. He was on the verge of breaking down mentally while thinking about his friends that he killed in order to escape. Then, he was taken in by the many DEATHS of various worlds. They took him in, making him swear allegiance to the entities called 'DEATH'. His situation and powers became crucial for helping the DEATH entities kill humans, youkai, and other living creatures so that DEATH entities can thrive. Because of this, Damion had no choice but to serve the entities called DEATH since they were the ones that saved Damion from the time-space rift Deus Ex Machina sent him in.

Combat-wise, Shadow Damion repelled Death, was weak to ice and light magic spells, absorbed darkness spells, and is generally powerful overall.

"So, what does your 'scan' spell say about that monstrosity?" Reisen asked Damion.

He told her what he learned about his combat data.

"Light magic? Leave that to me" Ex Keine said to Damion.

Reisen took her turn to shoot Shadow Damion several times in the head and body areas. Shadow Damion brushed off the damage as though it was nothing. The damage he took though, still remained (100% reduced to 94% health left for Shadow Damion)

EX Keine used her turn to cast 'Lightra' spell on Shadow Damion. The 'Lightra' spell was an upgraded version of the weak 'Light' spell. EX Keine gathered light energy from the sun into a ball of concentrated energy in her hands. Releasing the spell, the energy was condensed into a beam of light that hit Damion head-on. The victim, Shadow Damion, was heavily affected by the spell, and seemed to take a fair bit of damage from the attack. (94% reduced to 84% health left for Shadow Damion).

Shadow Damion began his turn. "**You think you have the power to stop me? Think again, as Damion, myself, can't even come to terms with the fact that he killed his own friends with his very own hands!**"

Shadow Damion began by shooting a pulse of dark energy at Damion. Unfortunately, Damion was unable to evade the attack, and ended up taking the attack to his stomach. The damage to Damion was a lot (100% reduced to 60% of Damion's health remained).

"You may claim to be me, but I know that only I can carve my future with my own hands. Claiming to be me only ends up causing you to be disappointed when you realize that I CAN change if given sufficient time and resources" Damion yelled to his shadow self.

Damion began his turn by rubbing his feet on the ground rapidly, setting them on fire. Once said feet were set on fire, Damion rushed up to his shadow self and gave the eldritch abomination a good kick to the stomach area. "**Blaze Kick!**" Damion called his attack as he made contact with his shadow self. Shadow Damion was pushed back a little from the attack combo, but pushed Damion back after taking the damage. Once Damion returned to where he was, he dug his feet into the ground to put out the fire on his feet. (84% reduced to 77% health left of Shadow Damion).

Reisen went next, and he, like before, went trigger-happy against the deathly shadow. More bullets were fired at Damion's shadow self, and he brushed off the bullets like they were nothing. The damage to him, though, was VERY real and evident. The holes that were made in the cloak robe were proof of the damage made to the entity (77% reduced to 71% health left of Shadow Damion).

EX Keine, like before, gathered solar energy and compressed it into a sphere in her hands, then shot said energy at Shadow Damion in the form of a beam. Shadow Damion didn't take too kindly to the beam attack called 'Lightra', and part of his robe cloak was singed from the weakness to light magic (71% reduced to 61% health left of Shadow Damion).

Shadow Damion was silent this turn, and cast a spell that was new to the group, 'MaBufudyne'. The spell was one of Shadow Damion's standard spell attacks. The spell sent a chilling atmosphere among Damion, Reisen, and EX Keine. Then, suddenly, an ice block began to form around the three fighters and encase the fighters in said ice blocks. Once encased, the ice blocks shattered to pieces, dealing heavy damage to Shadow Damion's enemies. Reisen lost quite a bit of health (100% reduced to 70% health left for Reisen). EX Keine took about the same damage as Reisen (100% reduced to 70% health left for EX Keine). Damion, on the other hand, was weak to ice, and took more damage from the spell than Reisen and EX Keine (60% reduced to 15% health left).

"Damion!" Reisen shouted as she noticed Damion's health in critical condition.

Damion used his turn to cast 'Cure' on himself. He used his magic to bathe himself in a barrier of healing magic to restore some of his health (15% increased to 35% health left for Damion).

Reisen took out a bottle of medicine and tossed it to Damion. "Here, drink that quickly. It should bring you up to good health" Reisen explained.

Damion caught the medicine bottle and began downing the contents. Similar to his 'Cure' spell, his health increased tremendously (35% increased to 85% health left for Damion).

Up next was EX Keine's turn, and she, like before, cast 'Lightra' on Shadow Damion. The result was the same as before; Shadow Damion took a fair bit of damage from the spell, as he was weak to light-based magic (61% reduced to 50% health left for Shadow Damion).

"**Heh, you did pretty good with your friends, but how about standing up for yourself for once in your damn life?**" Shadow Damion shouted to Damion.

"You assume that I'm going to fight my battles alone without help, but that's where you are wrong. Individually, a strong person falls to a group of people that resist. With strength in numbers, people are able to overcome many obstacles like rebellions against a corrupt leader. You are definitely wrong to assume that I fight alone and only for myself. THAT'S WHY I'M GOING T O PROVE TO YOU THAT I WILL FIGHT NOT ONLY FOR MYSELF, BUT ALSO FOR MY FRIENDS!" Damion shouted back to Shadow Damion.

Shadow Damion laughed off the claim and used his turn to change strategies a little. Shadow Damion cast a spell called 'Matarunda'. This spell sent a wave of debilitation at his enemies (Reisen, Damion, and EX Keine). The debilitation from the spell significantly decreased the offensive power of the trio he was fighting.

The wave of debilitating energy that was fired from Shadow Damion hit Damion, Reisen, and EX Keine. To Reisen and EX Keine, it seemed like nothing happened

"Damn it, now I remember that spell" Damion muttered.

EX Keine and Reisen looked to Damion and asked him, "What? What is that spell?"

"That's a spell that reduces its enemies' offensive power temporarily" Damion explained in simple terms.

Damion, despite the attack power decrease, pressed on with the battle. He used his turn to set his feet on fire again, using that combo. Damion rushed towards his shadow self and kicked his shadow self in the stomach area (50% reduced to 47% health for Shadow Damion).

"This is definitely bad, you two. Our attacks aren't going to be as effective on him for the next three turns we take" Damion warned his teammates.

Reisen and EX Keine nodded in acknowledgement.

Reisen took her turn to go trigger-happy on Shadow Damion once again. However, since the debuff spell was in effect, her attacks weren't as effective as they used to be, though some damage was dealt (47% reduced to 44% health left for Shadow Damion).

Next up was EX Keine. She continued to use 'Lightra' spell on Shadow Damion. Gathering energy from the sun into a ball, she then shot said energy at Shadow Damion in the form of a beam. The attack singed Shadow Damion's robe cloak. The damage to the shadow wasn't as strong as it used to be (44% reduced to 37% health left for Shadow Damion).

Shadow Damion took his turn, and shot a pulse of dark magic at Damion. Damion, like before, couldn't dodge the magic in time, and suffered a bit of damage from the attack. He was also pushed back from the attack (85% reduced to 45% health for Damion)

Damion used his turn to bathe himself in green, healing magic to restore some of his health. He cast 'Cure' on himself (45% increased to 65% health for Damion).

Reisen used her turn to go trigger-happy again on Shadow Damion. The result of the attack was roughly the same as before: not much damage dealt against Shadow Damion (37% reduced to 33% health left for Shadow Damion).

Up next was EX Keine again. Like before, she cast 'Lightra' on Shadow Damion. Gathering energy from the sun into a beam of light magic at Shadow Damion. Like before, Shadow Damion was hurt from his weakness to light magic (33% reduced to 26% health for Shadow Damion).

"**You think that by teaming up with friends, you can become strong, back them up during their time of need only to run out on them. If it would benefit you, you would gladly kill your friends to turn them into your personal undead servants**" Shadow Damion shouted to Damion.

"That's where you are wrong! That may have been what I was like back in my home world, but I HAVE CHANGED TO VALUE MY FRIENDS MORE THAN MY OWN LIFE! I KNOW I MAY SOUND LIKE A HYPOCRITE RIGHT NOW, BUT **STOP LIVING IN THE PAST!**" Damion shouted back to Shadow Damion.

"**You say that now, but I will only believe you when you when you can prove to me that you can beat me. Come, prove to me that you have changed. PROVE TO ME THAT I, YOUR OTHER SELF, AM WRONG ABOUT YOU!**" Shadow Damion challenged.

Shadow Damion took his turn to cast a different spell: 'Mind Charge'. Using his magic to enhance his magic abilities temporarily, Shadow Damion was ready for his next turn.

"Oh shit! He's preparing for a powerful magic spell! Put up your guard at full power, NOW!" Damion ordered.

Putting their trust in Damion, the trio put up defensive stances to prepare for anything that could happen.

Fortunately, the power debuff from three turns ago wore off from the three fighters.

Shadow Damion then unleashed his most powerful spell, 'Megidolaon'.

Three spheres of pure, condensed, and high-pressure magic fell from the sky. The three spheres collided on the ground between Damion, Reisen, and EX Keine. The three spheres merged into one MASSIVE sphere, and then exploded, blasting the three fighters with pure magic. The damage was huge and could've potentially been life-threatening, if not for the defensive stance that the three fighters took (Damion's health dropped from 65% to 5%, Reisen's health dropped from 70% down to 10%, and EX Keine's health dropped from 70% down to 10%).

After recovering from the magic blast, EX Keine and Reisen asked Damion what that spell was. Actually, the spell would've instant-killed them if it wasn't for Damion's warning. The two girls were thankful for the heads-up. Their health, however, took a massive beating from the spell.

"That was … 'Megidolaon' … one of the most powerful spells … in another world I've been to … It has no resistances or weaknesses … and is almost unavoidable" Damion explained through deep breaths.

"Holy hell … That was too close for comfort" EX Keine said through deep breaths.

"You two … get close to me … so I can fix our health" Reisen instructed EX Keine and Damion.

Doing as told, the young man and were-hakutaku got close to Reisen. Reisen pulled out a bottle of VERY powerful medicine. "Damion, you are going to have to work to pay me back for the use of this medicine. It's very difficult to make, and it affects all allies near the drinker" Reisen informed him.

"I'll take my chances and work to pay you back. Now then, what does that medicine do?"

Reisen ignored Damion, and drank the VERY powerful medicine. When Reisen drank the medicine, her health spiked back to full. Not only Reisen's health was restored, but so were EX Keine's and Damion's.

(All three fighters' health returned to 100%)

"I will work hard to return this favor, Reisen. That I promise you" Damion assured Reisen before returning to the fight.

Damion used his turn to get up-and-personal with Shadow Damion, using his 'Close Combat' skill on his shadow self. Damion was really going all-out to attack his shadow self in a variety of ways. When Damion was finished, he returned to EX Keine's and Reisen's side. The side effect to using that skill was a drop in Damion's defenses (26% reduced to 20% health left for Shadow Damion).

EX Keine used her turn to cast 'Lightra' once again onto Shadow Damion. Like before, Shadow Damion was taking more damage than any of the other attacks he's been hit with. EX Keine still gathered solar energy, compressed it into a sphere, then shot said energy as a beam onto Shadow Damion (20% reduced to 10% health left for Shadow Damion).

This time, fatigue was clearly visible on Shadow Damion's face and body.

"**Why do you resist? You are still attached to the past, and refuse to move on. If you are so rebellious to yourself, then why are you fighting me?**" Shadow Damion asked Damion, this time without the evilness that he once had.

"It's because I realize now that I need to stop living in the past. You are just reminding me of my failure and pushing me to stay in the past. I won't lose to my past self!" Damion answered sternly to his shadow self.

"**So be it, prove to me that you are as strong as you claim to be**" Shadow Damion replied as though issuing another challenge.

Shadow Damion used his turn to cast 'Mind Charge' once again. Like before, Shadow Damion's magic power was temporarily boosted, but he had to wait until next turn before unleashing that power.

"Time to go all-out before he hits us with that spell again" Damion commanded.

"Are you insane! That'll kill us all!" Reisen pointed out.

"No, Reisen, he won't be able to survive another 'Lightra' spell. He's that weakened where this next assault will do him in for good" EX Keine explained.

Reisen simply nodded in response and understood the line of logic that was going on.

Damion rushed in to use his 'Close Combat' skill (10% reduced to 4% health from Shadow Damion), and then Reisen dealt the finishing blow with her trigger-happy gunplay (4% reduced to 0% health left for Shadow Damion).

Shadow Damion, upon defeat, exploded in a mess of shadows. The darkness that once empowered him dispersed like insects fleeing from fire. Furthermore, Shadow Damion's form returned to being a carbon-copy of Damion but shadowy black.

## Victory against Shadow Damion ##

* * *

><p>"<strong>So you bested me with your friends. I see you have grown since then. However, you have to face the facts or I will go berserk again<strong>" Shadow Damion said to Damion as though in desperation.

"I-I-I am not sure" Damion stuttered.

Then, from behind, Ex Keine hugged Damion from behind and she whispered to him, "Damion, remember that psychology thing you were trying to explain to me? Use that on that… whatever he is. You must do it, Damion. I'm here for you"

Then, it was Reisen's turn to add in her two cents. She took hold of Damion's hand and said to Damion, "Don't forget about me. If that 'thing' is really who you really are, then you have to face him and give him your answer"

"I'm… just scared to… move on" Damion admitted sadly.

"Damion, the first step in moving on is to accept the past and put it behind you" EX Keine said to Damion.

Then, realizing what Reisen and EX Keine were talking about, Damion stood up to his shadow self.

"You're right. I am just a coward who is relying on others for my own safety. My past self would gladly sacrifice my friends for my own safety, but that's the past me. I am the me who is looking towards the future, and am trying to put the past behind me…" Damion began.

"**You… are you really…?**" Shadow Damion asked, smiling nicely with hope for the answer he's been wanting to hear.

"Yes. I lost track of who I was, and was dwelling in the past, but I made new friends who were by my side just now to help me conquer this obstacle in my life. I need to grow up and face reality, face the future with a smile, and most importantly… Accept that you are trying to reach out to me, like a desperate child trying to send a message to their parent or like a working person trying to desperately warn their friends or boss" Damion continued.

"Damion…" Reisen and EX Keine muttered.

"**Then, you're really trying to say that…**"

Damion nodded. "That's right. You really are me, and you were trying to tell people about me that I forgot, repressed, or pushed away. You were desperate enough to take physical form to confront me about it in person… THAT'S RIGHT, YOU ARE THE ME THAT I THOUGHT I FORGOT, REPRESSED, OR OTHERWISE HAD NO IDEA EXISTED!"

Then Damion did something completely unexpected.

Damion ran to Shadow Damion and hugged him. He was also in tears while doing so.

"I'm so… so sorry. I had no idea… that I was… hurting myself indirectly. DAMN IT!"

Shadow Damion smiled contently. "**Thank you for facing reality. Now that you have overcome your biggest obstacle, I think you deserve to inherit your best friend's power of the WILD CARD**" Shadow Damion said with content, and then pulled out a very familiar-looking gun from his pocket.

Damion took the weapon from his shadow self, and instantly recognized it as the same weapon he used in another world he was in.

"Th-this is… Why do you have it? Why give it to me?" Damion asked in total confusion.

"**You lost your ability to that power after almost dying in THAT world. It was her finding that item of yours that saved your life. Now that my business with you is over, it's time I tell you that you must put your regained power to good use. I will be that power, and you may call upon me for assistance**" Shadow Damion said to Damion before fading away and being absorbed into Damion.

The particles that made up Shadow Damion faded away as if being scattered into the wind, and then made their way into Damion, being absorbed into said person's body.

"Damion, what just happened?" Reisen asked him suddenly.

Damion was too focused on his acceptance of reality to care about what was happening. In fact, he felt exhausted and collapsed to the ground, unconscious from regaining his lost power.

"Damion!" EX Keine and Reisen yelled together upon seeing Damion collapse.

Thinking fast, EX Keine used her power to put the history of the human village back into place. After doing so, she reverted back to her human form so to prevent the humans in the village from finding out that she's a youkai and preventing a large-scale panic from happening.

Picking up Damion from the front, and Reisen picking him up from the back, they hauled the exhausted and unconscious young man into the village.

* * *

><p>In the Kamishirasawa School infirmary, the two girls rested Damion in one of the beds.<p>

"Is he going to be alright?" Keine asked Reisen.

Reisen sat down on the bed to check on Damion. She checked his temperature for fevers, checked his physical condition, and various other specs related to health.

Unfortunately, there was nothing wrong with him health-wise.

"I'm not an expert doctor; I'm just an apprentice who's learning from Eirin. From what I can tell so far with my limited knowledge, he's just exhausted" Reisen told Keine.

Reisen then got off the bed to return to her work.

Keine, on the other hand, sat down next to Damion's bed and rested on said bed. However, she accidentally fell asleep.

* * *

><p>An hour later, the young man woke up from unconsciousness. Getting up, he was rather dizzy and had hazy vision so far.<p>

"Where am I? He asked as if talking to anyone that might be in the room.

He got some answers when he saw Keine leaning on the young man's bed.

"_If that's Keine, and I'm in a building, then I guess I'm in the human village… somewhere_" Damion thought to himself as he looked around to get a better idea of where he was.

Sadly, his awakening and shifting around in his bed woke up Keine.

Keine yawned and then noticed Damion awake. Upon realizing that she fell asleep, she quickly jumped back into her seat to put some distance between her and the young man.

"When did you wake up?" She asked him out of surprise.

"Just now" Damion answered her honestly.

Keine breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hang on, let me go find Reisen, if she's still around, and then you can explain everything to us" Keine told Damion.

The were-hakutaku left the room, leaving Damion to return to bed to get some more rest.

* * *

><p>It seemed like ten minutes passed when Keine returned into the room, with Reisen behind her.<p>

"I just finished my work here just as Keine told me the good news of you waking up" Reisen said to the young man.

"Don't rush, Reisen. I'm sure Damion needs time to come up with an explanation of what that 'thing' was that we fought" Keine said to Reisen.

"I guess it's time for me to tell you what I remembered after my home world: After surviving the Heinz Dilemma, I was sent by Deus Ex Machine, the former god that created me, into a space-time rift to escape my home world. Unfortunately, I was taken in by many DEATHS of various worlds, and they took me under their wings. They trained me in death-related magic, even to the point where they taught me the spell to summon the DEATH of the world I go to. However, I am grateful that the DEATHS haven't given me any orders to kill anyone yet, but it seems like they want me to continue living my life" Damion began.

"Okay, go on"

"Then, the DEATHS of another world told me to find and be the bodyguard of someone by the name of 'Drake'. That would be the friend I travelled the worlds with, protecting him with whatever means I could, and occasionally fight with him to keep him in top physical form. After some adventures in the world I first met him in, and the one after that, we came into a world where we learned to use the power we fought: The power of a PERSONA"

"Wait, Persona? You mean like personality?"

"Kind of. The Power of PERSONA, according to what we learned back then, was actually our emotions given physical form, like that shadow me we fought, that we tame to fight creatures called shadows. Unfortunately, late in that world's adventure, we learned a truth about shadows and Personas: They were essentially one and the same. Shadows were creatures created from the rejected, suppressed, and forgotten emotions of ordinary people that are given physical form that roam around looking for the people whose emotions made them up. Once said shadow finds the person that they belonged to… well, you saw what happened to my shadow self, right? That's generally what shadows do first. If a person is unable to come to terms with and accept their shadows as another side of them, then the shadow will go berserk and try to metaphorically eat the minds and personalities of the person they were"

"That sounds messed up" Reisen commented.

"If my guess is correct, I pray that Gensokyo does not fall under the same fate as me and my friends did back in that world" Damion said sullenly.

"Why is that?" Keine asked.

"I can make the weapon needed to summon and control the individual's Persona, but whether the individual accepts their shadow as another side of themselves is a matter that depends on that person completely. Shadows usually consume other shadows and become stronger through stuff, similar to cannibalism. When a shadow goes berserk, they emit a power that attracts other shadows to help empower the berserk shadow and make them stronger, usually with a new form or new powers" Damion continued.

"It makes sense, but it doesn't make sense at the same time" Reisen admitted.

Damion sighed. "They're your emotions given physical form that are desperate to be honestly, completely, and without lying, strong desire to be accepted by their owner. If that side of the person is rejected, then the personality goes crazy enough to kill their owner"

"Oh, is it like Chen wanting to be accepted by Ran, then Ran rejects the existence of Chen, so Chen goes crazy to kill Ran?" Keine asked.

"I heard about Chen and Ran from their master, Yukari, so I guess that would be a good analogy. Let's say that Chen is Ran's suppressed, rejected, forgotten, and emotions that Ran does not want to deal with in her entire life. Chen becomes a shadow of Ran and confronts her, saying everything that Ran does not want to hear or want anyone else to hear. The only way to stop Chen is for Ran to honestly, truthfully, and without faking it, wanting Ran to accept Chen as her personality… I hope that made sense" Damion commented after explaining how shadows worked using the shikigamis are examples.

"It kind of makes sense in a way, but I think that's the closest to understanding what happened as we can get" Keine said to Damion.

Reisen was still confused.

"Nevermind, I tried to explain it the best I could, but if it doesn't make sense, then let's just say it's my doppelganger that wants to be accepted by me as myself" Damion gave up.

"Oh, THAT makes sense" Reisen understood, somewhat.

"Doppelganger may not be accurate, but I think you understand the first part of how I am to explain shadows to you" Damion added.

"I'm sorry to change the subject right now, but what do I tell the humans? They saw you in bad shape when Reisen and I brought you here. Do you want me to tell them the truth?" Keine asked him.

"No, just tell them I found a doppelganger youkai in the village, lured it out to keep the village safe, and then fought the tough bastard with you and Reisen. It's not exactly the truth, but it's close enough to what I believe they would understand" Damion told her.

"But… if they don't know the truth…" Keine argued.

"If even you cannot understand what the shadows are enough to understand how to deal with them, then what chance do you think the humans have of understanding something you struggle to know?" Damion countered.

"I'm not an expert on humans, but I do know that they might know about things that even I don't know about"

"Good point, but I doubt they'd understand what shadows, in the sense that we're talking about, are and how to deal with them. You're more than welcome to tell them the truth, but don't expect them to understand or accept that as the truth"

While arguing with Damion on whether to explain the truth to the humans or not made Keine realize why Damion kept telling her to pass it off as a doppelganger youkai; to most people, it would sound like an adult's very elaborate and psychological thriller story.

"Very well, I'll just stick with the doppelganger story. I now understand why you insist on this" Keine replied.

Damion helped himself up out of the bed and bowed towards the were-hakutaku. Reisen tried to help Damion back into the bed to rest, but he was resistant and insisted that he give a proper apology.

"One more thing; I'm really sorry about my shadow self saying those terrible things about you and Reisen. It's true that what he called you would've been what I thought about you and Reisen in the past, but… after becoming friends with the two of you and understanding more about Gensokyo… well, I need to rethink my thoughts about the two of you as more than just allies that I can dispose of... I need to tell myself that... you two are my friends that I need to help protect with my life" Damion apologized.

Then, Keine stood up to leave the room.

"I understand… you don't want to leave behind any bad memories or bad impressions of yourself huh?" Keine smiled.

Damion blushed a little from embarrassment. "Sort of; I'm still trying to make friends with the people of Gensokyo, and I don't want them to think bad of me"

Keine giggled at his honesty. "I think I understand now. Just get some rest here for tonight, Damion, and perhaps we can find you a home here in the village, maybe a girl you would like to settle down with and raise a family" Keine offered.

Damion shook his head 'no' upon being made the offer.

"Sorry, but there are some things in Gensokyo that I still have to think about, like the monster rampage problem that's out there, or that debt I owe Reisen for saving us from my shadow self…"

Then, Reisen interrupted the young man, "Relax, I'm not expecting you to pay me back right away. I'm asking that you work hard to pay it off when you are able to. That medicine that saved us was difficult to make due to the ingredients used to make it were VERY rare and it took a long time to make anyway" Reisen explained to the young man, helping him get back into the bed for rest.

Then, Keine took her leave and left Damion alone in bed with Reisen.

"By the way, did you do anything with my EVOKER?" Damion turned to Reisen and asked her the question.

"Evoker? What's that?"

"It's the gun-shaped thing my shadow self gave to me before fading away and returning inside me"

"Oh, that. It's with me, but I don't think it's safe with you just yet. I tried firing the gun outside the human village, but it doesn't seem to shoot bullets"

"It's not supposed to shoot bullets. It's supposed to induce the near-death feeling of fear needed to summon my Persona. It's not meant for suicide or shooting enemies; it's meant to summon our Personas" Damion explained.

Reisen was confused, and Damion noticed this. "Just call it a trinket that allows me to summon my Persona for battle"

Reisen understood this explanation.

"So, does summoning your personas kill you and then you get brought back to life by your Persona?" Reisen asked out of curiosity.

Damion chuckled at the guess Reisen made. "No, it doesn't work like that. You simply point the evoker to your head, emulate the fear of dying, then pull the trigger. By emulating the fear of dying, I mean you pretend you are about to die and try to trigger those emotions as if it was really going to happen" Damion explained.

"So, you're basically faking suicide to summon your Persona?"

"You know what, let me demonstrate how it works tomorrow. You'll probably learn more through watching how it works than by me trying to explain it in a couple hundred words that probably won't make sense" Damion gave up.

Reisen giggled at this. "Alright, show me how it works tomorrow. For tonight, just rest off the exhaustion and just, well, take it easy for tonight. I'll come check on you tomorrow and we'll figure out what you're going to do from there. Reisen told Damion.

Reisen then stood up, bowed, then left the room to return to Eientei.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER<p>

Author's note:

It was difficult to put my own character in that situation of having to face his shadow self that keeps telling Damion that he's living in the past and needs to face reality. I tried to add in the psychological aspect of characters as much as possible, so please go easy on me if it isn't as detailed as it's supposed to in comparison to the Persona game series.


	3. Of Shadows and Enemies

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Persona or Touhou… I only own my OCs.

Author's note: I'm trying to explain the concept of shadows to newcomers to Persona series from the Touhou fans, and explaining a little about the Touhou characters to the Persona fans. If it seems like I'm just laying facts about both series, remember that some fans of either series MIGHT NOT KNOW ANYTHING about the other series.

* * *

><p>*Reisen and Keine leave Damion's GUEST team members*<p>

The next morning, in the human village, Damion woke up early. He was feeling refreshed and ready to get to work.

Getting ready for the day, Damion did some stretches to make himself more physically fit, including pushups and sit-ups. After readying himself physically, he began to prepare himself mentally. He thought about hypothetical situations involving near-impossible situations and how to solve them. Of said situations included a scenario where the objective is to defuse an argument between himself and the humans of the village.

Damion let himself out of the infirmary of the school and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

He came across Keine while wandering the halls though.

"Good morning, Damion-san" Keine greeted.

"Ah, good morning" Damion replied.

"I've been meaning to ask you what you were going to do with that power of yours"

"Oh, I was going to use it to keep the monsters and youkai away"

"Perhaps you forgot, but I am a youkai myself"

"Let me rephrase that: I was going to use it to keep aggressive monsters and the human-hating youkai away from myself and my friends"

"That's better"

"Sheesh, are the people of Gensokyo so strict or easily offended by humans?"

"It's not a matter of being easily offended. It's a matter of survival. Some youkai eat humans for fun, others are desperate to get a bit to eat, others toy with humans. You're forgetting that youkai also eat"

Damion was taken aback by this. He assumed that nobody in Gensokyo ate when he first got here. After being reminded of one of the most important lessons, he apologized for his mistake.

"You're right. I forgot something so simple"

"At least now you know. I was just about to go prepare my classroom for the day, would you care to give me a hand?"

"Sure, just let me get ready for today"

Damion, after ending the conversation, headed into the bathroom.

About five minutes later, he returned to the classroom Keine taught in. The teacher in question was organizing the books in her desk and grading papers.

"So, what can I do to help out?" Damion asked.

Keine began by having Damion straighten the desks so that they were organized in linear fashion. Once that was done, Keine had him prepare the chalkboard for use. Keine was telling the young man things that needed to be done while she graded papers.

For the next fifteen or so minutes, Keine was telling Damion what needed to be done, and the young man was working hard without complaints.

Once Keine was done grading papers that morning, she looked around to see the classroom in great condition, as if brand new.

"Wow, you work fast, Damion-san" Keine said with a voice that says 'I am impressed'.

"Anything else, Keine?" Damion asked her.

Keine looked around the classroom, and found that there was nothing else to be done. "No, I think that's everything. Thanks for your help, Damion-san"

"If you don't mind, can we drop the formalities thing? I never understood it much" Damion asked.

Keine was surprised to hear Damion's sudden request. "Why? Formalities? I think you mean honorifics. They are used to address people respectfully. Taking them away means that two people are in an intimate relationship. We're not in said relationship, so it would give the humans here a misunderstanding" Keine replied.

Damion sighed in defeat. "Alright. I don't get it, but I'll give it a try….. Keine… san" Damion muttered, trying to get an idea of how it worked.

"You know, you're not that bad a person I thought you were from your 'shadow self'" Keine suddenly said, changing the subject.

Damion was shocked to hear the new topic. He then looked down.

Keine noticed Damion's unwillingness to talk about the subject.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Perhaps you're not ready to …"

Suddenly, Damion turned to look at Keine.

"No, it's not your fault. I think it's mine for forgetting everything and rejecting who I was and what I did. That 'shadow me' was trying to help me recover my memories and remind me not to kill unnecessarily" Damion interrupted.

"Oh, alright" Keine looked down.

The two of them sat together awkwardly after the topic came up. Keine was regretting her notion to ask about Damion's shadow. Damion, on the other hand, was just uncomfortable talking about the matter altogether.

After a minute of awkwardness, Keine asked the young man, "Are you hungry? I can take you to a ramen stand or someplace we can get breakfast" Keine offered.

Upon being asked to get food, Damion's stomach growled.

"Sure, breakfast sounds nice" Damioin replied, somewhat embarrassedly. His embarrassment was mostly from his growling stomach.

The two of them left the school together that morning and headed to a fast-food building in the village.

* * *

><p>The place Keine brought Damion to was a primitive version of some burger joints. Damion commented on the slight change in name of what he was used to; the restaurant in question was 'Ace Burger'.<p>

"I'm sorry it has to be fast food, but it's one of the only things open so early in the morning" Keine apologized.

"No, it's okay. This fast-food place reminded me of a popular place back in the human world" Damion replied.

Keine giggled, knowing exactly what restaurant Damion was referring to in the human world. She and Damion headed into the restaurant together.

Inside, the atmosphere of the restaurant was very familiar to Damion, had the feel of a modern-day fast food restaurant, despite the wood and bamboo materials that made up almost everything.

"I was hoping the human village would have some traces of modern-day technology from the human world, but now that I think about it, why hasn't the human village made an attempt to be more like the human world's technologies and cities?" Damion asked aloud all of a sudden.

Keine sensed Damion's homesickness from that comment. "I understand your feeling of homesickness. As for why the human village hasn't evolved into what your standards of being 'modern' are, it's because of the youkai being the dominant populace of Gensokyo" Keine reminded him.

Damion apologized for his comment, "Sorry, but you're right about me missing the human world's technologies and modern standards"

Keine accepted the apology and told Damion to make his order. "Why don't you make your order and we can continue talk while we eat?" Keine offered.

Nodding 'yes' to Keine's offer, Damion looked at the menu and placed his order. It was a relatively modest meal he ordered, and Keine was surprised with Damion's order.

Keine, once her turn came, made her order and paid for their meals.

In about two minutes, both orders came. Damion and Keine took their respective orders and moved to a seat.

When Damion and Keine were seated, however, Damion noticed one of the other patrons moving seats to join them. The person who joined Damion and Keine was a woman with a red bow in her long, light violet hair. Parts of her hair were tied with red and white paper charms. She was wearing a dark-brown shirt with dark red overalls. On said overalls were the same red and white paper charms that were in her hair.

"Ah, good morning, Mokou-chan" Keine greeted her friend.

"I never expected you to be here, Keine-san" the woman, Mokou, replied to Keine.

Mokou then noticed Damion.

"Is he new to Gensokyo?" Mokou asked Keine, changing the subject to that of the young man with Keine.

"Oh, are you talking about me?" Damion asked her, biting into his burger.

"Of course I am. What's your name?" Mokou asked him.

"Damion. I just got here to Gensokyo yesterday, and … well … I've been through one hell of a day yesterday" Damion introduced himself to Mokou.

"My name is Fujiwara No Mokou. Even though I'm a human, I don't live in the human village. You could say I'm a special person for a reason" Mokou introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Mokou… san" Damion hesitated, remembering the need for honorifics around the human village.

"He's not used to honorifics, despite coming from the human world, so please go easy on him, Mokou-chan" Keine explained to Mokou for him.

"Ah, it's alright. Just call me Mokou, Damion" Mokou said to Damion.

"Why is that? Keine told me that dropping these 'honorifics' mean intimate relationships" Damion answered shyly.

"Oh, is that what this is about? Don't worry about it. You're a friend of Keine, and I'm kind of interested in you as a friend" Mokou heartily replied to Damion.

"Alright… Mokou" Damion, once again, shyly answered.

Now it was Keine's turn to join the conversation again. She let Damion and Mokou get to know one another.

"Now that introductions are over, I was going to ask you to give Damion-san a tour of Gensokyo around the Human Village area to give him an idea of what places are safe and which places are not safe" Keine asked Mokou.

"Eh? Me? I'm not that good a tour guide. I know you have school to teach, but why couldn't you have one of the human hunters show Damion around instead?" Mokou replied, trying to decline the request.

Damion looked down, and so did Keine.

"Is there a reason why he shouldn't be with the other humans?" Mokou asked again.

"Damion, would you like me to tell her about what happened yesterday and what happened to you?" Keine asked the young man out of concern.

Damion looked up and answered, "Let me explain it to her"

Damion then turned to Mokou and leaned in to her ear. "_Can you keep a secret from the other humans here? I'm afraid they might… freak out and shun me… if they knew the truth of what happened yesterday_" Damion whispered to her.

"What could possibly be so scary that…"

Damion whispered the events that happened yesterday to Mokou so as to prevent others from hearing what really happened.

After the explanation, Mokou was stunned, surprised, and thought he was crazy.

"You expect me to believe all that?" Mokou asked Damion suspiciously.

"I am a witness to the events yesterday, helping him fight that … doppelganger … yesterday. Reisen Inaba helped to stop that thing too" Keine defended Damion.

"That's… kind of difficult to believe without evidence" Mokou answered.

"If I had my Evoker, which I was told that Reisen has, I would show you that what happened wouldn't be a lie" Damion explained.

"Evoker? Do you mean that gun-shaped thing your … doppelganger … gave you? Reisen gave it to me to hold onto" Keine replied, secretly pulling out the weapon in question and stealthily handing it to Damion under the table.

Damion saw Keine trying to return his weapon to him under the table, and took it.

"_Thanks for keeping it safe and out of sight from the people around us_" Damion whispered to the schoolteacher.

"So, what does this Evoker thing do?" Mokou asked them.

"It's a device… wait, I can't tell you here" Damion answered, remembering that he was in a public location where people are around him.

"Just trust him on this, Mokou-chan. I told everyone that he found a doppelganger youkai and lured it out of the village to keep the humans safe" Keine informed her.

"Alright. Let's finish breakfast so you can explain everything to me" Mokou made Keine and Damion promise.

After agreeing on this, the three of them went back to eating their meals.

Then, Damion asked Mokou a personal question.

"What makes you so special, if you don't mind me asking" Damion asked politely.

Mokou leaned towards Damion and whispered, as if about to tell him a secret. "_Do you swear not to tell anyone?_" Mokou asked in a whisper to Damion.

The young man knew that the secret that Mokou was about to tell him had to be something important enough to avoid.

"I don't tell secrets without permission from the person who tell me their secret" Damion replied seriously.

"_I drank the Hourai Elixer, and became immortal; that's the first thing. The second is that I can manipulate and have great resistance to fire_" Mokou whispered to him.

Damion whispered back to her, "_I'm not surprised by this, being new to Gensokyo where anything and almost anything can happen_"

"Good, now make sure to explain what happened to me yesterday or you'll regret hearing what I told you" Mokou told Damion, returning to her seat.

The three of them continued eating together in silence.

* * *

><p>Later, outside the human village, and after Keine hid the history, and existence, of the human village, Damion began to explain everything to Mokou.<p>

"Here's the truth of what happened yesterday: I was minding my own business with the entity called Death; I serve directly under Death's orders, meaning I could be compared to a human shinigami shikigami. While wondering what I was going to do to wait for Death's orders, I was somehow taken out of Death's realms through a portal of some kind with eyes all around inside said portal. When I came to, I lost my memories of everything that happened to me except for the adventure I had in my home world; that's a separate story though. Anyway, I remembered then that I was able to use magic, but it was the darkness element spell, and another one that summoned DEATH to instantly kill my enemies. I was branded evil and a killing machine just for knowing those two spells by the monks and shrine maidens" Damion began.

"I would, too think that you were evil as my first impression" Mokou commented.

"Hush, I believe there is more" Keine said to Mokou.

"After being chased, I hid in one of the shrine buildings, where I met Hakurei Reimu. She didn't see me as evil, giving me a chance to explain myself and most of my memories missing. She then reminded me of how to fight with melee and magic, then told me to 'beat some sense into her disciples' without killing them. Unfortunately, I killed one with that DEATH spell, hoping the spell would jump-start my memories, but it failed. I then knocked out the last monk chasing me, and tried to figure out what was going on. Unfortunately, Reimu suddenly attacked me without giving me a chance to rest and catch my breath. I lost of course, and was beaten to unconsciousness"

"Sounds about right, from what I can imagine if I was in your case" Mokou added.

"When I woke up, Reimu explained why she attacked; there was a monster outbreak coming from the Hakurei Border, and she accused me of being the leader of the monsters gone on batshit crazy and rampaging about. After explaining the situation to me about the monsters, she taught me the basic spells, 'Scan', 'Cure', and 'Esuna'. With those spells learned, she asked me to do a favor for her and find Marisa Kirisame. I don't know why, but I assumed she was a sage with the most knowledge, at the time back then. The, Reimu told me about her being a witch, and a thief. I had to rethink my image of whoever that Marisa person was. Afterwards, leaving the shrine, I fought some of the monsters around the shrine to get stronger. While fighting, I came across Reisen, and we teamed up to fight some of the monsters. It's a shame that she wasn't able to handle close range combat; she fled whenever the monsters tried to get close to her"

"That's Reisen-chan for you. She told me about where she got her training, but was a failure in the … Defense Corps where she came from. She was given a chance to make up for it by being the … Defense Corps's leaders' pet. Unfortunately, due to events that I'm not in liberty to share, she came to Gensokyo to hide from them" Keine explained vaguely.

"Okay, so that explains why she couldn't handle close combat" Damion understood.

"Please continue your story, Damion" Mokou told him.

"Anyway, after fighting together, I asked around town for leads as to where I could find Marisa. One of the people in town told me to check the Scarlet Devil Mansion, since I was told that Marisa would be there to steal books from time to time. Asking Reisen for help, she lead me to Youkai Mountain. Along the way, we began talking about ourselves, and my interest in what she did and where she came from got the better of me. I decided to put the monster problem on hold until my curiosity was satisfied. So, I followed Reisen… san… here to the human village, and I met Keine. She took me into the village after hearing the story I remembered, the one about my home world, and gave me a brief tour of the village before my shadow self appeared to haunt me. Racing out of the village, I confronted my shadow self, thinking I was alone. Thankfully, I owe Keine and Reisen a large debt for their help in convincing me to accept my shadow self. Trust me on this, Mokou, you would mentally collapse, be in life-threatening danger despite immortality, or be consumed by your shadow self" Damion continued.

"How bad is it to have to face yourself?" Mokou asked him.

Keine and Damion had serious, but sad expressions on their faces.

"Wait, is it really that bad?" Mokou asked again, noticing the uneasy feeling from her friends.

Damion and Keine were silent.

"Can you at least give me an idea of what it's like?" Mokou asked.

Damion sighed and explained his experience against his shadow self. "It's practically facing your inner feelings, deep dark secrets, grudges you hold against others… all that being threatened to being exposed, or actually being exposed to everyone if there are people around you. Even more to the fact is that your shadow… is ACTUALLY YOURSELF, your inner emotions, dark secrets, grudges you hold against others, inner feelings, and everything you reject being given a physical form in your image. What makes it scary is that everything they say is what you reject, suppress, and otherwise tell you things you don't want to believe. It's a wake-up call to reality that's just scary and so sudden… You can't face them by yourself, trust me… I would've given up and allowed myself to be consumed by my shadow self if it weren't for Reisen and Keine's support. Their support was what I needed to be able to stand up to and fight my shadow self. That's why I owe them a huge debt"

"I see, but what happens if you deny your shadow self whatever it is that they spout bullshit to you about?"

Damion and Keine fell silent once again.

The silence was getting to Mokou again. "Please stop with the sudden silence! It's creeping me out!"

"What happens… is that your shadow self becomes way more powerful than you are, and goes all-out to KILL you. If you cannot be killed, then I guess it will consume you with darkness until there is nothing left of you. I really don't know what would happen to an immortal, but that'd be my best guess. I'm sorry, but it's almost impossible to face your shadow self without support from your friends" Damion explained sullenly.

"Don't brush off the idea as simply accepting your shadow, Mokou-chan… the pressure you feel from being bombarded with reality from your shadow self, as from I remember and assume was going on in Damion's mind at the time, is not easy. Every person has facts and information they don't want to be told, and there are facts that people will deny until death. Damion's case was his story of his home world where he… I'm sorry, Damion, you have to be the one to explain your story to her" Keine explained, turning to Damion.

Damion became sad again, but mustered the courage to tell his story again.

He told Mokou about being created by a god to be a contender to the god's game to find a successor to his powers. Damion was a guardian of sorts for one of the contestants the god found interesting. He met and befriended a few of the contestants and continued the tournament with them as friends. At the end of the tournament, the inevitable happened: he had to face his friends, who were also contestants in the tournament. Before facing his friends, Deus explained he had to make a choice of whether to let his friends win and ultimately cause the tournament to start over again, or he could eliminate them and have one wish granted. Damion's choice was to eliminate his friends and break the cycle of the 'game'. He used his one wish to escape his home world from being destroyed by instability in the world, and leaving with a power he could be proud of.

Mokou handled the story a lot better than Damion expected.

"Oh, is that all? I'm sorry you went through all that" Mokou replied to his story.

Damion felt sadness from bringing up his past again.

"Do you mind if we change the subject to that Evoker thing? It's been bugging me since breakfast" Mokou asked.

Damion perked up from the question, and cheered up a little.

"Alright. Evokers are tools used, in another world that I've been to, to summon and control your emotions given physical form to fight your enemies. Originally, Personas were people's emotions and thoughts given physical form, but that was only one part of a bigger understanding: Shadows are actually the negative emotions, hidden feelings, rejected thoughts and beliefs, as well as facts that we humans refuse to accept as part of reality. Said emotions were given physical form in what we called 'Shadows'. Fortunately, shadows only came during a time between one day and the next: The Dark Hour. That was the case in another world, but I don't know if the Dark Hour exists in this world, or even if there are shadows around for that matter" Damion explained in detail.

"Wow, that's a lot to learn" Mokou admitted.

"That's about the basics of what shadows are. Now for Personas…"

"Wait, there's more?"

"Yes. Here's the next part: Personas, after a long time studying them by ourselves, were actually shadows that deviated from normal and actually confronted their original human selves. Their goal was to become accepted, completely, truthfully, and without hesitation, by their human selves. Upon doing that, the human and shadow become one, with the shadow joining the human and becoming their Persona. What the Personas do is, once summoned, protect their human from other shadows or fight to eliminate other shadows, depending on what the human does with their Persona. Essentially, shadows and personas are the same thing, just given different names" Damion explained more thoroughly.

"Wait, if that's the case, then what happens to shadows if they're rejected?" Mokou asked him.

"They eat the mind of their human, their personality, leaving behind a personality-less, mindless, living, breathing body. Essentially, the person is about as close to being dead without actually being dead. You could say they 'lost the will to live, and all meaning of life no longer applies to them'" Damion explained.

"Wow, shadows are more fearsome than I realize they were" Fujiwara No Mokou said in a loud gasp.

Keine was equally surprised upon hearing the news about shadows.

"A person with a strong will, strong sense of belief, and a strong heart are the ones who can face shadows with the least risk. Those with a strong sense of belief about their ideals being the most important, a weak will and weak heart are the ones who are at the MOST risk of being confronted by their shadows, and are the most likely to reject, and cause their shadow to go berserk. The only way to stop a shadow is to take them down with people who hold strong beliefs, strong wills, and a strong heart. Those people, even if they don't have a Persona, are able to fight the shadow and succeed in temporarily stopping the berserk shadow. Once a berserk shadow is defeated, the human is given a 'second chance' of sorts to accept the shadow as its true self. This would be the tricky part, as the human is usually given an explanation by his or her friends at this point to accept the shadow as themselves, or the human would put his or her friends in danger a second time by denying her shadow as a part of them. Should the worst-case scenario happen again, which is the shadow going berserk again, then it usually gets stronger than before" Damion explained in more details.

"That… sounds like a fearsome and deadly opponent, even for an immortal" Mokou said, shivering at the thought of potentially facing her shadow self.

"I'm telling you the facts as they are, Mokou. If there was anything for me to hide, there would be a good reason for me to do so" Damion confirmed for her.

Keine was following the conversation and understood everything so far.

"So, how does that evoker thing work? Do you point it at the enemy and shoot?" Keine asked.

Damion nodded 'no'. "I wish it worked that way, but from what I learned, the only method of summoning one's Persona is based on the fear of dying from committing suicide. As such…" Damion began, but then pointed his Evoker to his head.

Upon Damion pointing the Evoker to his head, Keine and Mokou both panicked. "Wait, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" They both yelled together and rushed to grab the Evoker from his hand.

Damion quickly stepped back and out of the way before being tackled.

"Stop! I'm showing you how it works! It does not shoot real bullets!" Damion yelled to them.

Upon realizing this, both of them sighed in embarrassment.

Damion pointed his evoker to his head again, and this time pulled the trigger. The sound of a gunshot and breaking glass echoed loudly through the area. What seemed like glass fragments around the young man's head seemed to break off into smaller shards off Damion. However, Damion's head was intact. A blue aura, complete with a magic circle with runes appeared on the ground below Damion. A second after all that happened, a shadowy figure emerged from inside Damion and appeared above him; it was his Persona.

The Persona in question was a figure in black overcoat that starts splitting starting from the waist area. The face of the Persona was covered by a metal mask that looked like several parts, with openings for the eyes. On the Persona's mask looked like leftover metal strips that imitated very small ears. While it couldn't be seen through the mask, there was a very long headband that was wrapped around the head of the Persona, and this could be implied from the long remaining parts of the headband being shown from the back of the mask. The Persona's weapon was a polearm of sorts with a blade at the top. On the bottom of the Persona's metal boots looked like ice skate blades in the shape of a thin metal plate.

"So this is his power back then… the power of the Wild Card" Damion muttered as he looked up at his Persona.

"_I am Thou, and Thou art I. From the sea of his Soul, his power became yours to wield. I am your spear that shall smite your enemies. __**My name is Izanagi**_" the Persona spoke to Damion in a commanding voice.

Keine was staring at the Persona in awe. Mokou, on the other hand, could not believe what she just heard.

The Persona, after introducing itself to Damion, disappeared back into Damion.

"Wait, a GOD is under your command!" Mokou screamed in disbelief.

Damion sighed. "They're not exactly gods. They're shadows that take the form of gods, and hold only a diminuitive portion of the power of the gods or goddesses they assume the form of. However, their power comes in the form of spells under certain categories: Physical, Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind, Support, Healing, and Almighty skills. That's the limitation to the power the Personas, and shadows for that matter, have" he explained.

Mokou had the face that said 'I knew it'. "I knew there was a catch to why it said it was a god. That explains it" Mokou shot back.

Keine, on the other hand, looked disappointed.

"There's one other thing, to fight shadows, you need a Persona. To have the power of a Persona, you need a strong mind, strong belief in your ideals, and a strong heart. Those are the bare minimum requirements in order to stand up to a shadow and defeat them. After a while, when you meet those requirements, your shadow will try to find its way to you. The time when a shadow strikes you is when you start to lose faith in yourself, like when something tragic happens, after a big fight you have with your friends, when you start holding a grudge against someone over a big deal like jealousy, or any time that either your heart, will, or beliefs start to falter" Damion added.

Unfortunately, this was when Reisen Udongein Inaba arrived.

"Oh, Damion, how are you feeling today?" Reisen asked Damion as she walked by.

"I'm feeling a lot better now that I've come to terms with myself" Damion answered.

"Ah, Reisen-san, good morning" Keine said to the rabbit youkai.

The four of them exchanged 'good mornings' with one another.

"So, what are the three of you talking about?" Reisen asked after greeting the three people.

"Reisen, I hope you have about a half an hour to spare, because it's going to be one LONG explanation as to what you and Keine helped me fight yesterday" Damion began.

For the next half-hour, he recapped the entire explanation to her, including the small details that were important.

"Wow, I never would've thought that those 'shadow' selves were actually our inner emotions given physical form. Now I'm afraid of the thought of meeting my shadow self" Reisen answered.

"I know, shadows are a complicated thing. If you don't understand, just call them your doppelganger that knows EVERYTHING about you; your thoughts, emotions, grudges, suppressed memories, and other matters that you don't want to, or completely reject, dealing with" Damion told them using an analogy.

"Okay, let's go with that" Reisen replied.

"Now that everything is settled, let's talk about something else" Damion said, asking to change the subject.

"Sure, but what?" Mokou asked him.

The four of them were silent for a moment.

After what seemed like a minute, Reisen told them why she was here.

"Actually, I'm here for my usual medicinal deliveries from Eirin" Reisen said to them.

"Oh, right. Let me put the human village back so you can go about your business, Reisen-san" Keine answered before turning into her hakutaku form.

Keine's power was to hide history, and the existence, of something. Usually, it's to hide the human village's existence from anything that pose a threat to humans. Her EX Form, however, creates the history, and reveals the existence of the hidden human village. This is her power.

Once the human village was restored to place, having its history returned, Reisen and Keine, after the latter returned to her human form, entered the village. She then offered to take Damion back into the village.

"I was going to ask you to help out around the human village for a while, Damion-san. Do you mind helping me around?" Keine asked before entering the village.

Damion politely declined the offer.

"Sorry, but I'm going to explore Gensokyo for a while. I don't know how long I'll be gone, so don't panic if I don't return after a day or two" Damion said to Keine before the latter returned to the village.

This left Damion with Fujiwara No Mokou.

"Well, I know some famous places in Gensokyo; Would you like to take a tour?" Mokou offered.

Damion accepted the offer. "Sure, I could use the help to learn my way around here; I don't want to have to keep relying on everyone to help me get around" Damion answered.

With that, Mokou led Damion out of the vicinity of the Human Village to places unknown to Damion.

* * *

><p>The first place Mokou brought Damion to was Youkai Mountain.<p>

"Here is Youkai Mountain. It's obviously home to many different youkai. This is where some of the really brave humans go hunting for weak youkai. The humans that come here to hunt don't go any farther than the area near the entrance to the mountain. This is the greatest mountain in Gensokyo, and many youkai live here, hence the name" Mokou explained.

"Sounds like a place for the badass humans to explore and return alive from, but that'd also be foolish at the same time" Damion commented.

"Yeah, but let me finish. At the base of the mountain lie the Kappa. They aren't as bloodthirsty as humans make them out to believe. They're actually quite shy and misunderstood. Some of them are curious about humans, others like to test a human in terms of skill, and then there's on Kappa in particular that stands out as the most human-like: Nitori Kawashiro"

"Nitori Kawashiro? Why does she stand out?" Damion asked her.

"For one, she's extremely shy around us humans, and tends to avoid us at even the smallest hint of what she might perceive as threatening. Second, unlike most Kappa, she's a very skilled mechanic; she often builds things during her spare time, ranging from simple machines, to complicated devices that I hear resemble things from the human world. She and I aren't exactly acquaintances, being human and her being a Kappa of course"

"Okay"

"Now then, patrolling the mountain is Momiji Inubashiri. Her job is to keep intruders out of the mountain, mostly to keep humans out of the mountain for their safety. Then, there's Aya Shimeimaru, a reporter and author of the Bunbunmaru newspaper, though most of her works are slightly exaggerated facts. Most humans and youkai that read her papers often don't believe what she writes. Then, there's Hatate Himekaidou, the other reporter for Gensokyo, but she writes her own newspaper, the Kakashi Spirit News, about facts that most everyone already know, so nobody even dares to pick up her newspaper. All three youkai I mentioned are Tengu; Aya and Hatate are crow tengu, while Momiji is a white wolf tengu" Mokou explained.

"Heh, anything else about Youkai Mountain?"

"There's lots more; deep in the forest area of the mountain lies Misty Lake, and in the middle of Misty Lake is the Scarlet Devil Mansion, home to vampire sisters Remilia and Flandre Scarlet. Both vampires have deadly powers, so going there for any reason is practically suicide. There's also the Moriya Shrine, which came to Gensokyo fairly recently. It's a shrine that houses and worships two goddesses, Kanako Yasaka, and Suwako Moriya. The shrine maiden there is Sanae Kochiya; she is human though"

"Oh, alright. I didn't know there were two shrines in Gensokyo, but then, I thought that…"

"Not exactly, Damion. VERY few humans travel to Moriya Shrine, mainly because it's near the top of Youkai Mountain. As such, the majority of worshippers at the shrine are youkai. It's sad, but the shrine is losing more worshippers every few months"

"Oh, I see"

"Aside from that, there's also the entrance to Gensokyo's Heaven, which is filled with mischievous celestials. Those celestials occasionally descend to Youkai Mountain to cause…"

"Wait, HEAVEN! That's a first for me to hear about"

"Yes, there's an entrance to Heaven, but it's mostly found by climbing even further up Youkai Mountain. You might say that climbing to the top of Youkai Mountain will take you straight to Heaven" Mokou added.

Damion whistled in surprise.

"Then there's the Underground Geyser Center, home to Satori Komeji and her pets, Rin Kaenbyou and Reiuji Utsuho. Rin's job is to carry corpses to the netherworld, while Reiuji's is to regulate the flames of hell with her powers of nuclear fusion. Satori Komeji has a younger sister named Koishi Komeji, but Koishi seems to be the only person that is immune to Satori's mind and heart reading powers because she closed her mind and heart to the rest of the world for reasons I don't know"

"Wait a second, Reiuji has the power of nuclear fusion? Isn't that like saying you have the power to blow up Gensokyo if you feel like doing so?" Damion asked. He began feeling uneasy once he heard about Reiuji's power.

"I don't believe Reiuji would go THAT far, since Satori will just punish her for even thinking about doing that" Mokou assured him.

Damion breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that.

"Other than that, I don't think there's anything else of interest in Youkai Mountain, except for the youkai that some humans hunt" Mokou concluded the explanation of Youkai Mountain.

To be honest, Mokou and Damion were outside the gate to Youkai Mountain when Mokou gave the explanation.

* * *

><p>The next place Mokou brought Damion to was a place not too far from Youkai Mountain: Bamboo Forest of the Lost.<p>

"Here's the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. As the name suggests, it's very easy to get lost here without a guide like me to help humans and youkai get around"

"Why is a bamboo forest a hotspot?"

"Eientei, the clinic that Reisen works in. is located here. I hate Eientei's most important resident for personal reasons. Also, my house is quite a bit away from Eientei" Mokou explained.

"Wait, who is Eientei's most important resident, and why do you hate that person?"

Mokou fell silent for a moment, hesitating to break the news to her friend.

"Do you know the story of the bamboo cutter and the princess?" Mokou asked him suddenly.

"No, not really" Damion answered.

Mokou explained the story of the bamboo cutter to Damion.

"Wait, Eientei's most important resident is THE Princess Kaguya from the story!"

"Yeah, but I would advise you stop yourself from falling for her. She's got this 'test' to anyone who dares to try and win her heart; the five impossible tasks" Mokou added.

"Sounds like a trap to avoid getting married to anyone, or as a well-thought challenge to satisfy her parent or guardian's desire to find a suitor, and at the same time stay away from the thought of romance" Damion speculated aloud.

"My father, unfortunately, was one of the humans who sought her hand in marriage, and attempted the five impossible tasks. He failed, and my family suffered humiliation, my mom divorced my father because he attempted the challenge, only to die during the process. My father and I were happiest together, and I only wanted to make him happy. My mom and I started becoming distant from one another after my dad left to attempt the five impossible tasks. The humiliation of my parents were passed onto me, and therefore, I don't exactly get along with youkai or humans" Mokou explained.

"Is that so? Then… why did you open up to Keine-san?" Damion asked her.

Mokou sighed.

"It's because she had sympathy for me and told me I shouldn't shoulder my parents' humiliation, and should distance myself from everyone who still looks at me and laughs, saying that I'm the failure daughter of a foolish man who sought to do the impossible" Mokou admitted, opening up to Damion a little.

Damion put an arm around her. This act surprised her completely.

"Wh-what are you doing!" Mokou screamed, jumping away from him.

"It's called a hug. Humans do this to one another for a few reasons, like to show support, to show affection, or to protect someone from danger" Damion replied defensively.

"Alright, which of those were your intention?" Mokou asked him suspiciously.

"It was to show support for, and sympathy for another person. What did you think I was going to do, Mokou?" Damion asked, somewhat irritatedly.

"I was thinking you were about to take advantage of my moment of weakness, opening up to you, so you could do lewd things to me" Mokou replied defensively.

Damion was now upset.

"I don't have an interest in romance yet, and I believe Keine will tell you this about humans hugging one another: They will do so for various reasons BESIDES an invitation to lewd things. It is an act to show sympathy, support, affection, or can be used to shield one from harm" Damion explained to her sternly.

Mokou was still suspicious of Damion.

"Just… don't do that without warning me next time" Mokou made him swear.

"Alright, I'll give you a heads-up next time I want to do that, and tell you my intention beforehand" Damion promised.

The awkwardness between the two of them slowly disappeared after the misunderstanding. Mokou then returned to her explanation of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

"This forest is also the best place if you want to find rabbit youkai; they're quite cute and fun to play with. They're usually making mochi during days that the moon starts to grow full, usually days after a new moon. I usually act as the guide to help humans and youkai get to Eientei, but things will go to hell once I see Kaguya Houraisan; we will start fighting until one of us gives up" Mokou informed him.

Damion began to understand Mokou's problem, but not the whole thing.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help but think that there might be a way for me to act as a mediator between Kaguya and yourself to talk things over and…"

"DON'T! It's none of your business! It's a personal issue between Kaguya and myself!" Mokou snapped at him.

Damion was taken aback by the sudden outburst.

"You're right…" Damion apologized, "I'm sorry if I was prying too much into the matter; I believed that simply talking over the problem would solve the issue, but I'm guessing there's a deeper and more personal reason for talking it over being out of the question?"

"Yes. It's just that I can NEVER forgive Kaguya Houraisan for the humiliation she caused my father. There's no way for me to ever forgive her, not even if it was possible for me to kill her a million times" Mokou said with pure rage.

Damion decided it was best to avoid the issue altogether, since prying into the matter will only hurt his friendship with Fujiwara No Mokou.

"Alright. If you want to talk about it with me, feel free to do so. I won't ask any further" Damion assured her.

Mokou looked at Damion suspiciously, as if doubting him.

"I'd tell you more, only if you go and kill her for me by extracting her liver and eating it in front of me" Mokou told him, letting her anger get the better of her.

Her request came as a complete shock to Damion.

"There are a LOT of things I can do, but killing someone over a grudge is NOT one of the things I will do. Cannibalism is also another thing I refuse to do. Why would I even eat a fellow person's liver anyway?" Damion asked her as if she went crazy.

"Don't you get it? It's a win-win situation for the both of us; Eating the raw liver of an immortal who drank the elixir is the same as stealing said elixir, and immortality, from the immortal one. Also, it allows me to get my revenge on her for humiliating my father" Mokou explained with pure evilness in her voice.

Damion was now fed up with this. He walked up to Mokou, serious expression on his face, and he slapped Mokou in the face as hard as he could.

*SLAP*

Mokou, once slapped, came to her senses and glared at Damion.

"How DARE you attack your friend" Mokou angrily said to the young man.

"I WILL NOT DO SUCH A THING AS MURDERING, THEN COMMITING CANNIBALISM, TOWARDS ANOTHER BECAUSE OF A GRUDGE ONE HAS OVER THE FAILURE OF YOUR FATHER!" Damion yelled at the top of his lungs at Mokou.

"I saved you from yourself, and I'm asking you to repay that favor by going after my sworn enemy. You would be able to gain immortality yourself if you succeed. Why do you refuse this offer!" Mokou yelled back.

"IT'S BECAUSE I DO NOT DESIRE IMMORTALITY!" Damion yelled back, making his thoughts clear to her. "THAT, AND I DON'T HAVE ANY REASON TO INDISCRIMINATELY ATTACK SOMEONE, EVEN IF I AM HIRED!" Damion continued yelling at her.

The mention of no desire for immortality shocked Mokou. She became confused, bewildered, and speechless for a moment.

After what seemed like five minutes, Mokou calmed down. She then did the unexpected: She apologized to the necromancer.

"I'm sorry; just thinking about her makes me want to go after her, roping in anyone and everyone I can think of who might possibly be able to clear out Eientei, the rabbits, Reisen, Tewi, and Eirin" Mokou apologized sincerely.

"Geez, if there was a legitimate reason for me to put an end to one's life, that I see with my own eyes and believe, THEN I might consider doing so. I may be Death's shikigami of sorts, but I'm not going to just risk my life against someone without a proper reason" Damion scolded her.

Unfortunately, their conversation was cut short by a person emerging from the Bamboo Forest.

It was a mature-looking woman in a red and blue dress. The top part of her dress had red on her right, with blue on her left. From the waist down, the two colors switched places, but you couldn't tell because of the belt-like sash covering that area. She had long, white hair, and dark grey eyes. In her hands were a bow in her right hand, and an arrow in her left hand.

This woman took aim at the necromancer (Damion).

"Who are you, and what are you doing to Fujiwara No Mokou?" the woman asked the young man threateningly.

Damion was not prepared to be treated with hostility from a person he just met. In fact, he didn't notice the woman's presence until she revealed herself behind him.

The young man turned around to look at the woman.

"In case what I was doing, I was bringing Mokou back to reality and stopping her train of madness before she coerced me to doing something I would regret doing; namely, killing someone by the name of Kaguya, and then eating her liver" Damion explained to the oddly-dressed woman.

"I see, were you actually going to go through with that request? If so, then I have to eliminate you to protect Kaguya-sama" the woman answered, still ready to shoot an arrow at the necromancer.

Damion shook his head 'no' and sighed all the while. "I was yelling at Mokou for making me repay my debt to her by killing Kaguya and committing cannibalism. She was telling me I'd gain immortality by eating her liver, but I think she's gone completely insane"

"Were you actually going to do so?"

"No. I don't understand how eating a fellow person's liver will give me immortality. On the subject of immortality, I'm not even interested in becoming immortal!" Damion screamed. He felt himself being cornered between Mokou's evil coercion to kill someone, and the threat of being killed by someone he doesn't know if he accepts Mokou's plan.

"Now that is a rare thing to be told without hesitation and with the whole truth" the woman admitted.

To Damion, her response made Damion think she knew about Psychology.

"Unrelated, but you sound like you understand psychology, how my answer tells you more about me than I actually tell you" Damion said, changing the subject.

"Indeed I know what psychology is… wait, you're not going to distract me. Answer me this: Do you plan on causing harm to Kaguya-sama?" the woman asked him sternly.

Damion had a stern expression on his face, and told her his answer.

"I have absolutely no reason to, nor do I plan to kill Kaguya" Damion answered her with a serious expression, and without showing any signs of hesitation.

The woman studied Damion's answer, his facial expression, and the seriousness of his tone of voice before lowering her weapon. She deemed the young man to not be a threat to Kaguya.

"I see, you are not a threat to Kaguya-sama then. I apologize for my actions; I was being cautious because I heard Fujiwara No Mokou yelling about killing Kaguya Houraisan and having someone eat her liver. I would've sent Reisen to investigate, but she's at the human village…"

"Wait, Reisen? If you were the one that sent her to the human village…" Damion asked, interrupting.

"Yes, that's right. I suppose she told you about me" the woman responded, interrupting Damion's interruption.

"HEY, DON'T IGNORE ME!" Mokou yelled suddenly, jumping into the conversation.

"Hold on, Mokou. I'll get back to you soon" Damion said to the immortal, revenge-seeking girl.

"Wait, you called her 'Mokou'… Are you in an intimate relationship with her?" the woman asked him.

Mokou became furious at the woman's tease. Damion wasn't too happy about the tease either.

"NO!" Mokou and Damion yelled together.

Realizing that the two of them answered together, the two turned away from one another.

The red-and-blue clad woman giggled at the response, and bowed to the necromancer.

"Alright, I was just asking. Forgive the late introduction, but you probably guessed it by now: My name is Eirin Yagokoro. I'm Gensokyo's pharmacist and doctor" the woman introduced herself to Damion.

"Oh, my name is Damion" Damion introduced himself briefly.

"Mokou-chan, I recommend you go home and let me talk to Damion-san for a while; he has a lot of explaining to do about that… shadow, was it?" Eirin said to the immortal girl.

Angered, Mokou was defiant towards Eirin and refused to let him leave her side. "No, I'm in the middle of showing him around Gensokyo, as requested by Keine" Mokou shot back to Eirin.

"Oh, is that so? Alright, we'll talk here then" Eirin concluded.

The three of them sat down on the ground, upon Damion's request, in order for him to explain everything to her.

"Okay, what did Reisen tell you about the 'shadow' me that she, Keine, and I fought?" Damion asked, starting the conversation.

"She told me that the 'shadow' you was a doppelganger of you that knows EVERYTHING about you" Eirin told him.

"Is that it?" Damion asked her.

"I'm afraid so" Eirin admitted.

Damion sighed, having the expression that said 'I have my work cut out for me this time'.

"Alright, this is going to take a while for me to explain, so listen well as I'm not going to repeat myself…" Damion began.

He told the pharmacist everything he knew about the shadows of humans. How they were the physical manifestation of suppressed emotions, rejected beliefs, rejected ideas, and otherwise unwanted by individual people. He talked first about what shadows were, what they do, and what happens when a shadow meets their original.

Surprisingly, Eirin was taking the information in quite well, as though understanding every word that was being said.

"Now that I explained, again, what shadows are, let me explain WHY they meet their original" Damion said, continuing the lecture.

He then explained that the shadows' goals are to be accepted by the original; wholefully, truthfully, without feigning acceptance, and completely accepted by the original as a part of their true self. If need be, the shadow will go around telling the original's true thoughts, real beliefs, their real thoughts about others, and expose EVERY untold detail about the original to those closest to the original.

"Now comes the most important part about what makes shadows so fearsome…"

He explained that if the original person does not accept their shadow as a part of them without hesitation, faking acceptance, or is reluctant to accept the facts, the shadow will go berserk, becoming a 'monster' of sorts that takes a physical form of ALL the emotions, rejected ideas, and whatnot, merged together to form said 'monster'. He then explained to Eirin about what happens when the original rejects the truths and existence of their shadows; the shadows go berserk and try to kill the original. He added in the hypothetical theory of what a shadow would do if the original is immortal: the shadow might try to find a way to dispel the immortality somehow, and THEN kill the original. Still in theory, should the shadow be unable to dispel immortality, then they would just do the next important thing: consume the mind, personality, and life energy of the original.

Eirin had the look of fear upon being told the information.

"I am not making this up; this is the research me and my friends in another world discovered about shadows" Damion added, "Eirin-san, are you following all this?"

"Of course. Now, is there anything else that I need to know?" Eirin asked.

Damion then explained what happens AFTER, and only IF, the original accepts wholly, truthfully, and without fear, their shadows as a part of them. If the person accepts their shadow as a part of them, and the shadow recognizes that their original has, indeed, accepted them, then they become the original's source of power to fight off other shadows, or as a power to fight their enemies. The method of summoning shadows, however, is still being worked out. The only method so far that was able to successfully summon, and control, their power of Persona was to use a device called an Evoker.

After explaining everything to Eirin, he added that he, along with Reisen and Keine, managed to help him come to terms with his shadow and accept said shadow as a part of himself.

Eirin was taken by surprise at this extra bit of information.

Mokou then added in something to the conversation: "Based on what he says, it's a very, VERY, stressful thing to experience. I'm scared at the thought of having to face my emotions-given-physical-form and having all my thoughts, emotions, secrets, and feelings exposed to everyone"

"Oh, the lonely Mokou-san has feelings?" Eirin teased.

Damion became upset and threatened Eirin, "Please don't make me fight you… You don't understand the severity and importance of the situation I'm telling you about. In fact, I doubt you'll understand the fear of facing reality and your rejected ideas, and then accepting them as part of you. Until you yourself experienced what I went through yesterday, you have no right to criticize or tease others about their untold, unwanted, rejected, or otherwise unwanted ideas" Damion told Eirin sternly. Part of him was also trying to stand up for Fujiwara No Mokou.

Mokou, in yet another moment of weakness, looked towards Damion in confusion upon Damion's threat to Eirin.

Eirin and Damion glared at one another; Damion wouldn't budge or blink. Eirin had to stop herself from readying her bow and arrow to look at Damion, then at Mokou.

Then, Eirin understood why Mokou opened up to the necromancer a bit, and apologized.

"You're right, I'm sorry" Eirin apologized to Mokou and Damion.

Damion calmed down and stood up, prompting Mokou and Eirin to do so as well.

"Now that you're up to speed on the situation, I hope, and pray, that the people of Gensokyo don't have to experience the trouble I went through yesterday" Damion ended the current topic.

Eirin then asked Damion about what happened to him.

"You keep talking about you meeting your shadow, but you didn't talk about what happened during your encounter with your shadow. I won't know the severity of the situation unless you tell me about it" Eirin demanded.

Damion sighed.

"Alright, let me start out by telling you that it's an experience that no one should have to experience alone…" Damion started.

He told her about the fear that was going on in his mind when he faced his shadow; his shadow knew EVERYTHING about him, and was constantly reminding him that he was living in the past, reminding him of his sin of 'murdering' his friends back in his home world. His shadow also reminded Damion of his memories that he forgot upon arriving in Gensokyo. Every time that he tried to convince his shadow that he changed the way he thought, his beliefs, and his outlook on life had all changed, his shadow kicked him back down with reminders that he can't simply let go of his past. It took some help from Keine to help Damion realize that he was not alone, and shouldn't shoulder the burden of his past alone; he had friends he could rely on, and be relied upon. With the support from Keine and Reisen, he was able to stand up to his shadow self, and fight to prove his shadow wrong; that he wasn't he same weakling that his shadow keeps reminding him that he once was. Even after defeating his shadow, he was afraid to come to terms and accept his shadow as another part of himself that he forgot, repressed, rejected, and couldn't accept reality. It was Keine and Reisen's further support that gave him the courage, and confidence he needed to be able to face his shadow and accept said shadow as part of him.

"Wow, I now understand why shadows are such a big deal to humans" Eirin admitted.

"Now that you know, I have an obligation to rush to your side and help you out in case you, Reisen, and whoever else in Eientei, ever have a problem of facing their shadows" Damion said to Eirin, bowing all the while.

"Are we done talking yet? I still have a few more places I have to show Damion? I am being his tour guide on Keine's request" Mokou asked them.

"Alright, alright. I'll let you continue your tour with Damion" Eirin answered.

Damion sighed again. "Sorry to have been a little rough with you despite our first meeting, but it's just that I couldn't let you belittle my friend. From what I could tell, it was difficult for her to open up to anyone, and I have a lot of respect for people who make active, honest attempts to change themselves" Damion told Eirin.

Eirin nodded in acknowledgement.

"If you stop by the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, I'll send someone to pick you up so we can chat" Eirin offered. "_As long as you don't attempt Kaguya-sama's five impossible tasks and fail, which I can guarantee will lead to your failure_" Eirin thought to herself.

Damion bowed to Eirin and watched as the pharmacist returned into the Bamboo Forest.

Realizing that they spent too much time outside the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, Mokou lead Damion away from the forest and into other places of interest around Gensokyo.

* * *

><p>That evening, after most of Gensokyo was explained, and shown to Damion, the two of them returned to the location of where the human village was.<p>

"Well, I think that covers a fair bit of Gensokyo. There's more to see, and lots to do, but I think it's time I send you back to where it's safe" Mokou said to Damion.

"Thanks for teaching me about Gensokyo and where the most important places are, Mokou. I really appreciate your help" Damion thanked Mokou with an honest expression.

Mokou, after seeing Damion's honest smile, blushed a little. However, she turned away, tsundere style, and replied, "Don't think I've opened up to you completely. I'm still a loner by nature, and I'm starting to try opening up to you as the first important _male_ in my life" she answered.

"Oh, sorry. I think I told Eirin this, and I meant it back then, but I'm not ready for a romantic relationship of any kind. I'm still afraid of being betrayed by someone, especially by someone close to me" Damion apologized.

Mokou had the look of dissatisfaction on her face when Damion apologized.

"Well, you're eventually going to have to open your heart to someone in your life; who's going to be the person who bears your children to continue your bloodline?" Mokou asked Damion seriously.

"I'm afraid I'm not that knowledgeable in the area of love, girls, or even how to be in a romantic relationship. I'm a complete idiot when it comes to emotional attachment in a romantic sense" Damion admitted truthfully.

"Really? Well, someone's going to have to teach you those things, but I'm going to have to have someone explain the concept to you"

"Why don't you teach me about it?"

"EH! No way! I told you, I'm a loner by nature, and I'm not good at intimacy either, so I am not the best person to explain what love is" Mokou answered back, flustered.

Damion looked down in disappointment from Mokou's answer.

"Sorry to have asked that so suddenly" Damion apologized.

Awkwardness fell upon Damion and Mokou once again. Damion's ignorance, and lack of knowledge, about love was the reason for the awkwardness.

Mokou then changed the subject.

"Well, just wait here until Keine is done with her after-school supplementary classes. She'll be outside to collect you once she's done" Mokou told Damion.

"Alright. I'll just fight some monsters, learn how to fight with the power of my Persona, and then retire into the human village for the night" Damion replied to Mokou. "_I hope that I can, one day, make you realize that you don't have to suffer the humiliation your father caused your family, by yourself. The same way Keine and Reisen helped me realize that I cannot face the future without putting the past behind me and accepting what I did in the past, STAYED IN THE PAST. I have changed, and I hope to make a big change in your life by realizing that you… in reality, have absolutely no real reason to go after Kaguya; that's just you going through the same mistake I made, but under different circumstances_" Damion thought to himself.

Then, Mokou left to return to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

Damion, on the other hand, rested on the ground to stare at the sky, lying on his back.

Unfortunately, when he did, Keine emerged from inside the human village.

"I heard everything outside the village between you and Mokou-chan" Keine said to Damion.

The necromancer jumped to standing up, startled by Keine's timing, and nearly readied himself for battle.

"Oh, it's you… Damn it" Damion cursed.

Keine walked out of the human village and walked up to him.

"You and Mokou-chan seem to be getting close to one another, almost as if Mokou-chan is starting to look at you as a potential love interest" Keine teased.

Damion became defensive at the tease. "Don't tease me like that! She and I aren't like that!" Damion replied, defensively, to Keine. Sadly, when he realized he got defensive, he didn't understand why he felt that way.

Keine, noticing the defensiveness in Damion, stopped with the teasing expression, and became serious.

"Tell me what's bothering you, Damion-san" Keine said to Damion.

Damion confided his worries to Keine; he was over-thinking how he desired to help Mokou realize that she doesn't have to shoulder the burden of her parent's humiliation, how he wanted to act as the mediator between Kaguya and Mokou by hearing both sides' stories. After hearing both sides' stories, he would act as a common ground between them until both Kaguya and Mokou soon learn to tolerate one another until he was no longer needed to act as the mediator between them.

It was a risky plan that could jeopardize his friendship with Fujiwara no Mokou, but it could potentially help ease the 'pain' that Mokou is shouldering alone.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that idea would be worth the risk. I understand your concern, but this is one issue you must not get yourself involved in. They've been fighting with one another for many years, and what chance do you think you have of suddenly causing a miracle between them to suddenly become friends?" Keine told Damion with a serious expression

Damion took the advice seriously, and understood where Keine was going with her explanation.

"Alright. I'll avoid the idea of mediation between them and work on helping Mokou come to trust us"

"When you say it like that, you make it seem like you're some kind of miracle worker who comes and goes"

"I'm sorry if I seem that way, but it's just that I don't know how to help people here"

"Perhaps the best thing to do is to simply wait until needed, or ask around if others need help"

Damion was surprised by the advice he was given. "Wait until needed, or ask if I can help? That'd take nearly forever, and I'd need luck if I was going to be able to help out when asked and…"

"Actually, you'd be surprised how helpful you'd be if you ask around. Tomorrow, I think I'll have you go to Eientei to see what life is like there. Who knows, you might be able to ask Kaguya-sama about her side of the story between her and Mokou-chan if you're lucky. Just don't bring up the mediation idea to her, or you'll get the same reaction from her that you would probably get from Mokou. Those two are bitter enemies, in case you didn't know"

"Bitter… enemies?"

"Yes. From what I hear, and she probably told you by now, she suffered humiliation when her father confessed to Kaguya-sama and failed to complete her five impossible tasks. As for why Kaguya has the five impossible tasks, I'm afraid I don't know either. I asked Kaguya-sama about that, but she refused to answer"

"I see. it might be difficult to talk about anything that's bothering me, even those that I shouldn't talk to her about" Damion sighed, giving up.

"Though, I suppose you might have a chance if you earn her trust by listening to her stories and working for her, like a personal servant. From what she tells me, she likes to tell stories to anyone who visits Eientei" Keine added.

"Working for her… gaining her trust… sounds like a pain to deal with" Damion complained.

"It's either be rude and ask her about why she and Mokou fight, thus causing you and Kaguya to start off with a bad friendship from the get-go. Or you can simply gain her trust slowly and then ask her nicely once she starts to have her full trust in you"

"Damn it…"

"No complaining. I'm giving you advice on how to help you satisfy your curiosity about her and her bitter relationship with Mokou. You have to properly earn that information from her, since I was not able to, due to being straightforward and asking her about it directly"

"Alright… If that's what it takes to help me understand everything, then I'll take my chances with the slow method" Damion agreed, giving up on his need for curiosity to be satisfied at the time.

"Good, now that we understand each other, let's find you a room or house you can crash for the night in" Keine offered.

She then lead Damion into the human village.

* * *

><p>As Keine and Damion entered, they passed Reisen, who was just on her way out to return to Eientei. Damion stopped Reisen suddenly to give her an update.<p>

"Sorry to stop you on your way out, but I met Eirin today, and she had me explain everything to her regarding shadows. I had help from Mokou-san, since she was my tour guide of Gensokyo today" Damion explained to the rabbit youkai.

"Oh, how did it go with you and her?" Reisen asked him.

He recapped the tour so far, and what he learned. He left out all the details between himself and Mokou simply to keep her emotions confidential and secret.

"Normally, when she talks to people, she usually keeps conversations short and to the point. Occasionally, she'll tell new people she meets that she runs a Yakitori stand, though I haven't seen said stand before" Reisen responded.

"Either way, I'm hoping to explore more of Gensokyo tomorrow, and maybe check out Eientei to see how life there is like" Damion said to her as though eager to see what would happen tomorrow.

"It sounds like you've adapted to Gensokyo quite fast compared to the other humans; most humans who come to Gensokyo take about a week to adapt and live here" Reisen added.

The two of them chatted for a while until Reisen realized that she should be headed back. Apologizing, she left in a hurry to return to Eientei.

Then, Keine lead Damion to one of the hotels in the village.

Keine managed to arrange for a room in one of the hotels. After making the necessary arrangements, and paying for his room, Keine left Damion to take care of himself from there. Taking his room key, he was escorted to his room and fell asleep in the bed as soon as he got in his room.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER<p>

Author's notes:

Newcomers to Touhou, this gives a brief explanation between two important characters in this fic: Fujiwara No Mokou, and Kaguya Houraisan. Newcomers to Persona series, shadows are explained in detail according to Damion's understanding of what they are. Sorry if this is a filler chapter, but I'm still trying to work out how to make the next important chapter work.


	4. Memories of You

DISCLAIMER: I don't own ZUN or Persona series. I only own my OCs.

* * *

><p>It was a dream of sorts, but at the same time, felt more like reality. Both of which were true, but neither were completely accurate. This was because in Damion's "Dream", he was standing inside what looked like a morgue of sorts. Instead of the morgue having the holy looks and decorations that most churches had, the church in this dream was decorated with pictures of death-related creatures. In addition to the pictures of death-related creatures, there was one picture that stood out: A picture of Damion's best friend: Drake. To top it all off, EVERYTHING in the room was decorated in velvet material, in a shade of velvet blue.<p>

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear friend"

Damion jumped, startled to hear someone call out to him.

He turned to look around the church for whoever it was that called out to him. He found his answer sitting in the front of the church where the priests or similar religious leaders would be when giving their sermons. Sitting in a chair behind a desk was someone that Damion recognized immediately.

It was a goblin-like old man with a really long nose. He was wearing what looked like a formal suit, similar fashion to a tuxedo, complete with butler gloves. His eyebrows were bigger than normal, and looked like it was grown to look like wings on top of the eyes. Most of his head was bald, save for white hair on the sides and back of his head. His ears looked like those you would see on elves or goblins.

Next to the seemingly old man was a mature-looking woman in an elevator attendant's outfit. She had yellow rings adorned, neatly arranged on her outfit and a sash-belt on her waist. She had long, silver hair and a purple headband on her head. In the woman's right hand was a tome of sorts.

Upon seeing the residents of the church in this dream, Damion fell into a state of disbelief.

"Wh…wh…wh…ARGH! Why are you here!" Damion asked them in frustration.

"Please… have a seat so I may explain everything to you like a gentleman" the man with the long nose told Damion.

Reluctantly, Damion did as instructed, and seated himself in a chair opposite of the old man's of the table in the church.

"Allow me to introduce myself again: My name is Igor, and this is my lovely assistant, Margaret" the goblin-like man, Igor introduced himself.

Igor's assistant, Margaret, bowed and introduced herself. "I hope we can be of use to you, Damion-san" Margaret said to him.

"Wait, be of use?" Damion asked.

"My boy, upon the request of your dear friend, who was the last guest in the Velvet Room, he asked me to renew his contract, but with a different name and user to inherit his power of the Wild Card. That person, is you, Damion-kun" Igor explained slowly and clearly to him.

"Wait a minute? Inherit? I thought he, along with his power, disappeared" Damion argued back.

"He did… in a way. Rather, just as the contract between him and I was about to be officially over, he asked me to take his power of the Wild Card, and give it to you when you have faced your true self" Igor explained to him.

"Hold on… how did he know I would face my shadow self?"

"You see, when Drake obtained the power of the Universe, he learned everything there is to know about his friends, his enemies, and what would happen if he didn't give up his soul to stop the physical manifestation of mankind's desires. He also learned the value of the Wild Card as an ability, and learned that it would disappear if the contract was to simply end" Igor continued.

"Just… how powerful is this Wild Card power?" Damion asked, half-lost.

"It's an extremely rare, and powerful ability to wield; most people, when they obtain the power of a Persona, are only limited to one or two Personas at most. The extremely few who obtain the power of the Wild Card are able to carry up to twelve Personas at a time, and still have access, through us, to way, WAY more Personas. My friend, you are blessed to have inherited the power your friend willingly wished to be given to you" Igor informed him.

"He… gave up his power… to save us? But… before he… did that… he… wanted me to have his power?" Damion asked, curious.

Margaret answered the question for Igor this time. "His request came as a surprise to us. Though we were reluctant to honor his request, he did provide us with a good reason to look the other way; what that reason was… it's not for me to say" Margaret explained.

"I am rather curious about this world you're in. Tell us about it" Igor asked Damion.

Damion gave the residents of the Velvet Room a quick overview about Gensokyo that he learned from Fujiwara No Mokou so far. He also mentioned that he was still new, and had to learn more about Gensokyo.

"I see. Well then, that explains a little about what happened after your friend made that request, and my previous assistant, Elizabeth, left the Velvet Room" Igor commented.

"Elizabeth? I think Drake mentioned her once, and I thought she might've been potential love interest for him" Damion muttered.

"Elizabeth? That would be a complete, total, and unpardonable sin for Velvet Room assistants to fall in love with someone" Margaret interjected.

"Are you telling me that Elizabeth was a friend to Drake?" Damion asked, surprised.

"Her curiosity for the world outside the Velvet Room got the better of her, and she asked our previous guest, Drake, to show her around. Unfortunately, that was also when the beginning of her sins started; she left the Velvet Room to become friends with Drake. I, personally, believe that it was because of their friendship that caused my foolish, sinful sister to leave the Velvet Room on her own to seek that young man after what he did for his friends" Margaret explained.

"I…I don't understand" Damion admitted.

"All in good time, but it's getting close to the time where you have to wake up. Also…" Igor began, then took out a velvet blue key of sorts. Igor passed the key to Margaret, and she walked the item over to Damion.

"Hold on to this" Igor told Damion.

Margaret offered the strange-colored key to Damion, and the necromancer took it. He was curious about the key.

"What is this key for?" the young man asked them.

Margaret returned to Igor's side.

"That will allow you to return to the Velvet Room. You are the only one who can see, and enter the Velvet Room because of your inherited ability of the Wild Card" Igor told him.

"So… what now?" Damion asked them.

"I think I have kept you too long in here" Igor replied.

"Wait? Too long? I'm still in a dream, so I should wake up after…"

"This isn't exactly a dream; this place exists between Dreams and Reality" Margaret interrupted.

"Next time we meet, it will be during our own free will. Now then, you will find us outside this human village that you told us about, should you need to hone his… no, **your** power of the Persona" Igor added.

Then, Damion's vision in the dream started darkening until it seemed like he blacked out.

* * *

><p>Damion awoke from his sleep in the human village hotel, as if waking up from a horrible nightmare.<p>

"_Was that really a dream…? Wait… it was TOO realistic to be a dream_" Damion thought to himself as he tried to put together the bits of what happened last night together.

Thinking about getting ready for the day, he put the thoughts of his 'dream' aside. However, when he got up, he felt something under his body. When he looked, he saw the object he was given in his 'dream'; the Velvet Key.

"_Is this the feeling of insanity Drake experienced when he, most likely, woke up after going through that dream?_" Damion thought to himself as he picked up the velvet key and stared at it.

Deciding to worry about it later, he pocketed the key and went to get himself ready for the day.

Later, outside the hotel, he was greeted by Keine.

"I hope you rested well, Damion-san. Mokou is waiting outside the village, and I've told her to take you to Eientei to meet Kaguya-sama" Keine told Damion.

Damion stopped upon being told what she had Mokou do for him today.

"Is… that… really… a good idea?" Damion asked Keine rather suspiciously.

Keine caught on to Damion's uneasiness. "I know you're concerned about whether they're going to fight, so I told her to drop you off at Eientei and then she can return home or do whatever it is that she does"

Damion breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the details.

"Alright, I'll see you later tonight then" Damion said to her, bowing, then leaving for the human village gates.

He left rather energetically, but his mind was still thinking about last night's 'dream'.

Some of the human children that Damion met two days ago came to greet him. Followed by the children were their parents.

The young man was greeted by the parents of the children, and they began asking questions about him. Most of the questions were about Damion's life before coming to Gensokyo's human village, other questions were about Damion being a magician that they heard their children talk about. They then asked him all sorts of things, ranging from simple things like hobbies, to questions as complicated as whether he'll find a girl he can settle down with inside the human village.

While answering the questions, Damion had to keep the truth about himself a secret; the secret of him knowing a spell that causes instant death, how he really is a human stand-in shinigami called a necromancer, and how the 'shadow' he faced two days ago was really his emotions and secrets given physical form to confront him.

After a while of answering questions, he told the parents that he has somewhere else to go. The parents agreed and led their children to school.

* * *

><p>Outside the human village, Fujiwara No Mokou was waiting for the necromancer.<p>

"You're kind of late" she pointed out.

Damion apologized and explained that he was held up by some of the children's parents. "Sorry, I was held up by the kids and their parents. They were asking me questions left and right about where I came from, whether or not I'd settle down with someone and have kids"

Mokou smiled at him talking about the questions he was asked by the children's parents. She was more interested in how Damion would respond to the questions he was asked by the parents.

"… and I told them that I'm not ready for romance simply because I am clueless about the matter. I never really understood the reason why romance is such a…" Then, he stopped for a moment.

Mokou had the face of satisfaction, until she realized that Damion stopped.

"Is there something bothering you, Mokou?" Damion asked her.

"Oh, no… it's just that you seem to be getting along with the humans of the village, and I was having fun hearing you talk about it" Mokou replied, trying to reply calmly without success in the calm part.

"Oh, alright"

Then, the necromancer noticed a velvet blue door floating near the entrance to the human village. The door looked to be floating in plain sight, just waiting for someone to waltz right in.

"_You've got to be joking… That dream was REAL!_" the young man shuddered when he saw the velvet blue door.

Mokou noticed Damion's expression and looked at the human village.

"Damion, what's wrong?" She asked him.

The necromancer snapped out of his disbelief when he was called. He then looked to Fujiwara No Mokou and brushed it off as spacing out.

"Sorry, it's just that I thought I was seeing things" the young man answered, trying to avoid looking like an idiot.

Mokou then looked in the general direction that Damion was looking; near the entrance to the human village.

"What were you looking at?" she asked him.

Damion was unable to figure out how to answer her. In fact, he realized that she couldn't see the velvet blue door.

"Sorry, it's just that I was wondering whether or not to share this weird dream I had last night. It was more like…"

"Do you mind telling me about it while I take you to Eientei?" Mokou interrupted.

Damion sighed, but was hesitant to talk about it.

"Sorry, but I need to find the right words to explain the dream in a way to get you to understand everything" the necromancer struggled to answer.

Mokou smiled at his response. "Alright, explain the dream to me when you find the right words, Damion"

Once the two agreed on that, Mokou led Damion away from the human village towards the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

* * *

><p>Along the way, Mokou started a conversation of her own to help pass the time.<p>

"Do you know why I wanted to get to know you when we first met yesterday?" she asked him, slightly blushing.

Damion looked at her with curiosity. "No, I don't" he admitted honestly.

Mokou fidgeted for a moment until she mustered the courage to answer him.

"It's just that… well… After seeing you get along with Keine-san so well, I thought you might've had a thing for her, and I was wondering how far you were in your relationship with her" Mokou answered truthfully.

Damion perked up at the honesty, completely surprised.

"What! She and Reisen Udongein Inaba saved me from myself, and I've experienced quite a bit during my first day in Gensokyo. Of course, the first day practically ended in me facing my shadow self and I had to come clean with her about everything. I don't know her reasons for helping a stranger like me so much to the point of offering me a place to stay, even temporarily, but I'm grateful for her support so far, and I still am grateful" Damion replied.

"Oh, was I mistaken?" Mokou asked, surprised by realization.

"You probably were. I'm sorry if it seemed like I was close with her, but it's just that she was supporting me after my crisis… I'm hoping to repay her hospitality somehow in the future, but I don't know how" Damion answered. "_If Keine's method of having me repay her is to have Mokou open up to people and forget the suffering she went through, then that's asking for a miracle that I probably can't make happen_" Damion thought to himself.

"That's not exactly necessary, as that's one of Keine-san's usual jobs. To her, it's more like a usual routine" Mokou answered, as though trying to clarify something.

"Is that so? Then I'm probably not that different from other humans who make it to the human village" Damion sulked.

Mokou noticed the change in the necromancer's mood.

"What are you even implying! Keine cares VERY much about the humans who make it to the human village. She probably saw you differently because of that power you had. You know, if you put that power to use to protect the human village from youkai, then that might be your way of repaying her for her hospitality" Mokou suggested.

"I wish that was possible, but I'm not sure if the power of Personas work against youkai or monsters; we've only been allowed to use them on other shadows" Damion shot back.

"I see" was Mokou's answer. Then, she had an idea of her own. "Damion, why don't we see if that 'Persona' power works here? If it works on me, then it might work on the youkai and monsters"

Damion was taken by surprise at the sudden suggestion.

"I wish I could, but I'm hesitant to do so, since you're a friend of mine and…"

"It's alright. I want to know if the 'Persona' power works on us"

Like before Damion was hesitant to go through with the suggestion.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know whether it'll…

"Geez! I'm immortal, remember? I won't exactly die. I'm just come back to life with the power of the phoenix" Mokou interrupted.

Reluctantly, Damion gave up and took out his evoker. At the same time, Mokou took a fighting stance as though preparing for battle.

"Alright, but don't complain to me if anything bad happens" he warned her nicely.

*BANG*

Damion pulled the trigger to the evoker after aiming it at, and at point-blank range, to his head.

What seemed like glass shards exploded from the necromancer's head, blue aura engulfed him from the ground up, and an entity emerged from inside Damion. The Persona, Izanagi, emerged from inside the necromancer.

The young man was hesitant to give the order to his Persona, but then he reminded himself that Mokou was immortal. When he remembered that fact, and that she was the one who ordered him to use his Persona on her, his hesitation turned to determination.

"_Zio_"

The Persona, Izanagi, nodded its head in acknowledgement and began its attack. Hovering above its owner, it hunched together its arms and knees in a defensive position, and then stretched out its arms and legs as if releasing a huge amount of power.

Sadly, the skill that Damion had his Persona use sent a weak lightning bolt skyward, only to come crashing down on Mokou. Since it was a rank 1 skill in the 'Zio' spell line, it did little damage to Mokou.

Mokou felt the pain of being shocked, literally, but didn't suffer as much damage as she would have if the 'Zio' spell was a rank 2 or higher skill.

Immediately after the damage was dealt to Fujiwara No Mokou, the Persona retreated back into the necromancer's body.

Mokou was able to shrug off the attack as if it was nothing, but the pain from being hit by the skill was real. Unfortunately, she went from being healthy to being in a state of paralysis from the 'Zio' spell (Zio spells having a side-effect of paralyzing opponents of course).

"Mokou… what were you thinking?" Damion asked her as he went to try and undo the damage that she requested him to do.

Mokou's response was garbled, and somewhat repeated gibberish.

"_Damn it, this is one of the reasons why I told her not to make me do this_" the young man thought to himself.

He then cast the spell he learned from Reimu, 'Esuna' to rid Mokou of the paralysis. Converting the mana in the air around him, he covered Fujiwara No Mokou in a veil of white magic. Slowly but surely, the paralysis started to disappear from Mokou, causing her health to return to normal.

Shaking off the attack and realizing her health returned to normal, she asked what happened.

"This is one of the reasons why I told you not to make me use my Persona's powers on you. Some of the skills they use have side effects that can be a hindrance to people, like poison, paralysis, fear, distress, berserk, panic, instant death by light, or instant death by dark" Damion explained as she recovered from the shock.

"You dummy, you should've warned me about stuff like this"

"I sense a 'catch twenty-two' there; If I didn't tell you about it, you would suffer from possible side-effects of being attacked by Personas, but if I told you what the problems might've been, then you probably would've wanted me to attack anyway. My dilemma was trying to avoid hurting you or talking you out of this" Damion answered her, scolding her lightly.

Mokou smiled and gave up responding, knowing that he had pointed out all of the things she would've said in that moment. She also helped herself up off the ground after being paralyzed.

"So then, Mr. Psychologist, now that you know that your Personas can hurt us, what are you going to say that I am about to say?" she asked him, playfully sarcastic.

"I don't have enough information to determine that" Damion answered, chuckling.

The two of them began talking about random things that came to mind, from Gensokyo, to Personas, to people Mokou knew before becoming immortal.

* * *

><p>At the edge of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, Mokou led the way inside.<p>

Damion was feeling somewhat uneasy, mostly because of the fear of getting lost in the forest. He did, however, push that fear aside and put his trust in Mokou, since he remembered that she lived in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost for FAR longer than Damion could possibly imagine.

Eventually, the two arrived at what looked like an old-fashioned Japanese mansion.

"This is as far as I'll take you, since… you know what will happen when Kaguya and I meet" Mokou advised Damion as she turned to go her separate way.

Before she could get far, a trap hole opened below Mokou as she left, causing the immortal girl to fall in.

"Haha! Got you, Reisen!" someone cheered from nearby.

The owner of the voice jumped out of hiding near some of the larger bamboo trees. The person was what looked like a 10 year old girl with rabbit ears and a pink dress.

The rabbit-girl was cheerful, until she looked into the hole that Damion assumed was dug up by her. The rabbit-girl's face went from mischievous satisfaction to that of sheer terror.

Damion, believing that it was the rabbit-girl's fault, walked up to her and grabbed her by the ears.

"What the hell was this about, you little twerp?" Damion said to the rabbit-girl menacingly.

"Let me go! LET ME GO!" the rabbit-girl screamed, struggling to escape Damion's grasp.

Mokou managed to crawl out of the hole, and she was covered in her phoenix flame, clearly showing signs of anger and frustration.

"That's it; I've had enough of your pranks, Tewi Inaba!" Mokou menacingly growled towards the rabbit-girl in Damion's hand.

"Please, let her go!" someone behind Damion asked him. Damion recognized the voice's owner to belong to Reisen. He then turned to look behind him, and, sure enough, there was the rabbit youkai that helped and was helped by Damion.

Damion, surprised to see her, dropped the rabbit-girl he was holding.

The rabbit-girl ran behind Reisen, and then looked towards Damion and Mokou in fear and surprise respectively.

"Please don't think badly of her, it's just that she's usually playing pranks on me" Reisen explained to Damion and Mokou.

"Wait, her name is Tewi Inaba? Is she your sister?" Damion asked, surprised.

Reisen explained to him, "Even though we share the name 'Inaba', we are not related"

"I swear, one of these days I'll get even with you, Tewi" Mokou swore before stomping off.

Then, Damion knelt down to Tewi's level and apologized.

"Sorry I was a little rough, Tewi-chan, but it's just that I thought it was an enemy attack against me or Mokou"

Tewi huffed, but didn't accept Damion's apology.

"Don't take it too hard; I think she just wanted to pull a prank on me as I was about to leave to make my runs to the human village" Reisen answered for her.

"By the way, why did you call her 'Mokou'? Are you two in a relationship?" Tewi teased.

Damion slapped his face with one hand upon being asked that question.

He gave her the explanation as to why he called Fujiwara No Mokou as 'Mokou'. Reisen was not sure about whether that meant that Mokou was changing for the better, or that Damion was secretly in a relationship. Tewi, on the other hand, began teasing him about being Mokou's boyfriend.

"Damn it, Tewi! I tried to apologize for the misunderstanding, and I'm trying to be nice to you, and this is how you treat an acquaintance!" Damion yelled at her.

Tewi, in response to Damion's yelling, ran away from him, laughing all the while, like a child having fun. Damion didn't take the tease too well. Fortunately, Reisen was able to stop Damion from chasing her.

"She's usually like this, so please don't take it personally, Damion-san" Reisen said to the necromancer.

After being coaxed into calming down, he apologized for losing his cool.

"Sorry, I don't take too kindly to being called a pervert of any kind" Damion admitted.

"I see. It's similar to how I hate being called a 'pet' by my former masters"

"Former masters?"

Realizing she almost told Damion about the Lunarians, she decided to play it off as former teachers. "No… I mean… Former teachers that taught me how to handle guns, but I ran away from training one day without learning how to deal with close-range attacks"

Damion knew it was a white lie (Not the whole truth, but not a complete lie), but left it at that. "_She'll tell me when the time is right, IF she wants to that is_" Damion reminded himself.

"Very well then, if there's more you'd like to tell me about that, then you are free to tell me about it when you feel the time is right. As of right now, I'll just drop the matter" Damion answered.

His response put pressure on Reisen to tell him about the incident, but that wasn't the necromancer's intention at all.

"Come inside with me, perhaps you can explain to Eirin-san what brought you here today?" Reisen replied, bringing Damion into Eientei.

* * *

><p>Inside was what looked like a typical pharmacist office; cabinets full of various medicines for a myriad of different problems. Behind a counter in the corner of the office was Eirin, working on what seemed like an experimental drug of sorts. Behind Eirin was a door that leads to the back part of the mansion.<p>

"I brought in our guest, Eirin-san" Reisen announced to the pharmacist.

Eirin stopped working on her mysterious new medicine to turn to Reisen and Damion.

"Oh my, what brings you here today, Damion-san?" Eirin asked him with a smile.

The necromancer gave Eirin and Reisen the details about why he's here. "I came here at the request of Keine-san. She told me that if I was to work off to pay Reisen back for saving us with the megalixer potion thing, then I had to come here to learn how such a powerful medicine is made and/or work to pay her back. Also, I have some questions I'd like answered, but I'm not sure if they're ones I should be asking… I don't know whether someone would give me the details without getting upset"

"Reisen, I think it's time for you to make your deliveries today. Damion-san and I are going to be busy today" Eirin said to her delivery girl. She had a hunch that the questions might be difficult or personal.

Reisen bowed and left the mansion.

"Now then, what sort of questions did you have to ask?" Eirin asked him.

"I heard only Mokou's side of the story between her and this Kaguya person, but she hasn't told me enough about why she and Kaguya are always trying to kill one another despite both having immortality" Damion asked her carefully.

Eirin's cheerful expression changed to that of uneasiness. She then leaned towards Damion's ear and whispered her answer.

"_Can we talk about this outside? I don't want Kaguya-sama to hear us talking about this; she's sensitive to this topic of conversation_"

The necromancer nodded.

Eirin and the young man left the mansion to go outside.

* * *

><p>Once outside, the two of them were seated on a bench near the forest area.<p>

"One thing you must understand is that you should NEVER bring this topic of conversation to Kaguya-sama. She might get paranoid at you and believe you were sent by Mokou to try and kill her, knowing full well that you know that she's immortal" Eirin warned Damion.

The necromancer nodded in acknowledgement. "I understand"

"Good, now here's what I do know. Fujiwara No Mokou was born from an aristocrat family, having everything that she wanted, practically living the life of luxury. She was very close with her dad, since Mokou's dad often cut work to spend time with her. Her mom, on the other hand, wasn't as close to her as her father was, because she spent more time at work than at home" Eirin explained to Damion.

Damion was taking in the information quickly and understood most of it.

"That's just Mokou's history prior to immortality. Now comes what happened that explains just about everything… Her father, one day, heard about a girl being found in a forest where a bamboo cutter found said girl. That girl was Kaguya-sama when she was a teenager in human years. Taking an interest in the rumor, Mokou's dad went to see Kaguya-sama, and was awe-struck with her beauty. Then, upon first meeting, he said to her that he wanted to add her to his family, as his second wife. Mokou wasn't too happy when she heard the news, but gave her father her support. Mokou's mother, on the other hand, was completely against the marriage proposal. Mokou's family had a lineage of only being born from noble blood or from the blood of very important and powerful people. Mokou's father had the authority to legalize polygamy if he wanted to, but kept away from the idea to keep his wife happy and faithful. Desperate to make Kaguya-sama his second wife, he went to see her in secret, got to know her, and then proposed to Kaguya"

Unfortunately, Damion felt that he wasn't alone with Eirin.

"That… I'm sorry, but that just sounds like a man I cannot come to respect because of greed… in the sense that he already has a wife who is faithful, but it sounds like he got greedy and wanted a second wife that's only good for showing off Kaguya-sama's beauty, like a trophy of sorts" Damion answered Eirin.

"I see you have the same thoughts I did when I first heard the story from Mokou-san" Eirin commented.

"What happened next?" Damion asked.

"Well, Mokou's mother found out about her husband cheating on her and going out with Kaguya-sama. This ended up being publicized, and Mokou's father lost all respect he had from everywhere; his wife divorced him, saying he should 'be happy with a woman with all body and no brains'. After the scandal was publicized, Mokou was affected and hurt the most, as her father stopped spending time with her, and more on trying to mend his social standing. Eventually, Kaguya-sama demanded that Mokou's father complete her five impossible tasks, which were actually impossible, in a sense. Despite being told it was impossible, Mokou's father accepted the challenge, and heard what she had in mind. Once told what the challenge was, Mokou's father spent his entire fortune searching the world for the items that Kaguya-sama demanded. Word got out to the public that Mokou's father accepted the foolish challenge and the people around Mokou started treating Mokou differently, calling her the daughter of a foolish, greedy, and unfaithful man. Her friends from school, and even her teachers, started to treat her differently, alienating her from the life she once had; the friends she once had, turned their backs to her and called her names, her teachers started failing her, using the excuse that she should have stopped her father while it was still possible at the time. Eventually, Mokou's life came crumbling down and then she turned to a life of an outcast"

It was Damion's turn to start crying.

"Now comes the part of how Mokou obtained her immortality… One day, as she was travelling the world using the allowance she earned over her life as a teenager, she travelled the world looking for her father to try and stop him from continuing his foolish request. While she was travelling, she heard a rumor about a drink that supposedly grants immortality: The Hourai Elixer"

"Wait, I heard about that Hourai Elixer, but I never understood what… wait, is it the drink that…"

"Yes, it's the forbidden drink that grants the drinker immortality"

Damion was in shock to hear about the reason why the Hourai Elixer was mentioned and was so important.

"Now then, when Mokou heard about the Hourai Elixer, she gave up on chasing her father and went after the elixir, after asking about it. She found the elixir in a volcano, after being told about it from some rumors in a village she came across; not a modern-day village, but a primitive, Native American village. Being the person she was, she ventured into the volcano and found the elixir. However when she did, she found some explorers fighting over it. She rushed in to steal it from the explorers, thinking it best to take advantage of their arguing with one another. Sadly, when she tried to steal it, the explorer holding the elixir was about to toss said elixir into the volcano. Desperate to save the Hourai Elixir, she bribed both explorers into giving her the elixir. That was how she became immortal, and stuck to her teenage appearance"

"I thought she looked that way because of magic"

"The Hourai Elixir IS magic, but given liquid form that bestows immortality, and thus 'locks' the drinker's appearance so that it doesn't change over the years"

"So, what happened after Mokou became immortal?"

"She fell into a state of depression, giving up on her chase for her father. Eventually, she regretted becoming immortal, as she desired to attempt suicide to end her miserable life after her father did the stupidest thing that caused the collapse of the family, and thus ruining Mokou's life. No matter how many times she committed suicide, she would come back to life over and over again. Eventually, she came to Gensokyo after hearing about starting a new life and avoiding the shame her father cast on her family…"

"Wait, you can't mean…"

"Yes, Yukari Yakumo brought Fujiwara No Mokou here to Gensokyo. It is unknown why Yukari did her that favor, but there was one other thing that Yukari did while bringing Mokou to Gensokyo: Granting her the power of the phoenix fire"

Damion was taken completely by surprise at the story he was told. In fact, he was in disbelief.

"Th-th-th-the story… seems to… contradict… Mokou's… current outlook… on life" Damion stuttered.

"It does, but remember; she started a new life here in Gensokyo. Despite the gift of a new life with new friends, she still harbored ill memories of the day her life came crumbling down, and she still feels alone and paranoid that people will look down upon her. As a result…"

"Let me guess, she made a home in an isolated location, away from humans"

"Quite sharp. Yes, that was the case. Now then, she met Keine-san shortly after coming into Gensokyo. Fearing she would be rejected, she tried to keep her distance from Keine-san, but Keine-san persisted and tried to get Mokou-san to open up to her and tell her story to Keine-san. Mokou-san told her story to Keine-san, and Keine-san felt sympathy for her. From then on, Keine-san and Mokou-san were like the best of friends. Eventually, she came to open up to and rediscover the joy of being around friends. Still, the memories of her past haunted her even though she found joy in Gensokyo; she restricted the interactions she had with others despite her new surroundings, but opened up a little to the children of Gensokyo. Eventually, friends of Keine-san became friends of Mokou-san" Eirin explained.

"Wow, that's a LOT to take in" Damion replied.

"There's one more thing: when Mokou-san learned that Kaguya-sama made it to Gensokyo the same way she did, she swore revenge on Kaguya-sama and made it her immortal life's goal to eliminate Kaguya-sama's existence. Usually, it's a stalemate whenever the two fight, but they'll go at each other in a variety of ways. Sometimes it'll be danmaku, other times it'll be over a game of cards or this new method called 'video games'"

"Wow, just wow"

"Also, if Kaguya-sama hears us talking about Mokou-san, she will demand to know where Mokou-san is, and she will use any means necessary to get that information from us. This includes whether Mokou-san was actually here or not"

"Now I know why bringing up Mokou is a bad idea near Kaguya-san"

"That's Kaguya-'sama' mind you"

"Alright already… Even with Keine's teaching of the honorifics, I still don't understand why they're so important" Damion admitted.

Eirin sighed.

"Alright then. Was there another question on your mind?" Eirin asked, changing the subject.

Damion thought about the next question to ask. The question that was bugging him the most was now answered, so now it was a matter of which question to ask next. It took a while, but he decided to ask about Reisen.

"About Reisen, she told me she came from 'far away' and fled because of training being too difficult. Is there anything I'm not being told?"

Like before, Eirin's facial expression said to avoid the question. Damion noticed the expression.

"Sorry, maybe I'm just not ready to handle whatever the truth may be"

"You're right, as you probably won't believe me"

"Actually, does it have to do with the moon?"

Eirin's unwilling face suddenly became that of shock.

"I figured as much"

"Then tell me, what is there on the moon that we aren't telling you about?"

"From what I speculated from Reisen's vague question she asked me out of the blue, she tried to introduce to me the idea of a civilization on the moon. Your facial expression of shock confirms this fact" Damion pointed out.

Eirin chuckled lightly at the speculation, and was impressed at the results just from guessing.

"I see, then there's no further need for me and Reisen to hide it from you if you figured that much from a vague question" Eirin chuckled.

"It's just a theory that's being proven true to me by your reaction and Reisen introducing the idea to me but…"

"No, it's actually true, but I have to ask that you keep this place a secret from the Lunarians there. The Lunarians are what humans would call a 'race' of rabbits that live in a different place"

"Wait a minute, rabbits? Like Tewi?"

"More like Rabbit-youkai to be more accurate. The moon rabbits and Gensokyo rabbits are fundamentally the same, but moon rabbit youkai are a lot more intelligent and colony-minded" Eirin informed him.

"Alright, then can you tell me about this civilization up on the moon?"

"On the moon is a civilization of moon rabbits. I was one of the only youkai that the moon rabbits accepted and welcomed into their civilization because of my intelligence. In fact, I was appointed to be the tutors of Watatsuki No Toyohime and Watatsuki No Yorihime. Both girls were fantastic students of mine, until Kaguya-sama asked me to make her the Hourai Elixer for her. I was shocked to hear her ask me something that could potentially cause her to be hated by her people, but she was insistent that I make it for her. I gave in and helped to make the elixir using my knowledge of medicine and her power of the eternity. Putting our talents together, we made the Hourai Elixir. She then consumed said elixir to become immortal"

"That explains a little"

"There's more; word got out to everyone that Kaguya-sama consumed the forbidden Hourai Elixir, and she was sentenced to exile on Earth. Once sent to Earth, she became the story of the Bamboo Cutter. You probably have an idea of what happened from there, right?" Eirin added.

"Yeah, I remember from what you told me earlier"

"Good. Now then, I was fortunate to avoid punishment by not drinking said elixir, and I gave the royal family the excuse that I found the elixir hidden, went to experiment to see what it was, and the Kaguya-sama came in at the wrong time and asked me to give it to her. I regret lying to the royal family, so I continued my life as the brain of the Lunarians. One day, an opportunity appeared where I was able to retrieve Kaguya-sama. That opportunity came to me in the form of being an emissary to retrieve Kaguya-sama from the Earth. Joining the Lunar Defense Corps as an emissary, I travelled to the Earth to retrieve Kaguya-sama. When we found her, however, she was refusing to return to the moon. Fortunately, I found her first, otherwise Kaguya would be forced against her will to return"

"Why is it good that you found her first?"

"It's because she told me stories about her time on Earth that convinced me to hide her from the emissaries. Eventually… I… well… did my fellow comrades in to keep Kaguya-sama safe. When Yukari-san took us away from Earth into Gensokyo, I was relieved to learn that Gensokyo was a place that would be extremely difficult to get to directly from the moon. Now, even today, I protect Kaguya-sama from future emissaries sent to retrieve her" Eirin explained.

"Wow. Murdering your comrades is indeed something I know all too well, since you already know my story of how I had to do them in to break the cycle of 'games' that would've continued indefinitely if I was done in myself" Damion commented.

Eirin giggled at the comment. "It seems we are alike in a few ways" she added.

"Yeah, I guess"

"Was there something else that was on your mind, Damion-san?"

This time, the necromancer asked her about Reisen.

"What about Reisen Udongein Inaba?"

"She's a moon rabbit who was the Watatsuki sisters' pet. She served them, and they gave her the easy life. She occasionally went to visit the Lunar Defense Corps to get training in order to try and be the sisters' bodyguards instead of just being their pet. Eventually, she was accepted into the Corps as a trainee. She learned the ways of how to handle their guns, and she got their standard-issue dual-pistols that new recruits get. Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding when the humans from Earth sent something called 'Apollo 13' seemed to have invaded the moon"

"Wait, Apollo 13? That was supposedly a spacecraft to explore the moon, from what I learned in classes anyway"

"True, but the Lunarians thought it was an act of war against them from the Earth humans. Unfortunately, that was when Reisen Udongein Inaba fled the moon. She was afraid of the war that the Lunarians thought was going to happen, but fled before realizing that it was just a misunderstanding. Instead of fleeing to Earth, she met Yukari at the stratosphere of Earth. Yukari offered salvation to Reisen, who accepted the offer, and was sent here, to Eientei. It was when we heard news about a moon rabbit that we became suspicious of her when she found out where Kaguya-sama and I were hiding. When we first came in contact with Reisen, we thought she was an emissary sent to bring Kaguya-sama back to the moon against her will. However, she told us what happened, and that was how I realized the Lunarians were quick to jump the gun on the situation with the humans. So, in exchange for hiding her here in Eientei, she had to work for me and Kaguya-sama, as well as keeping an eye on Tewi" Eirin explained to him.

"Why is Tewi so important?"

"For one, she's the owner of Eientei. Second, all the earth rabbits follow her command, including ones from here in Gensokyo. Third, she allowed us to open a pharmacy here. Fourth, the rabbits that she controls also help cater to Kaguya-sama's needs, as well as making Mochi (Rice Dumplings) pounded with medicinal herbs. Lastly, she brings good fortune to us if she wishes, though her power of bringing good luck and fortune mostly work on humans" Eirin explained.

"Did you call, Eirin?" the rabbit youkai in question asked. She suddenly came running towards the pharmacist.

"No, I was just telling Damion-san how important you are to us and what you have done for us" Eirin told the rabbit youkai.

"Ah, you mean pervert-san?" Tewi teased.

"Tewi! Please do not tease him like that, he hates being called that" Eirin scolded.

"Geez, and I thought he was the type who preferred MILFs" Tewi teased again.

Damion's face went from annoyed to that of surprise.

Eirin noticed the surprised face, but she didn't know what Tewi was talking about.

"Is there something about what she said that I need to know about?" Eirin asked Damion sternly.

Damion's face went from surprise to that of anger.

"DAMN IT, TEWI! WHERE DID YOU LEARN THAT TERM!" Damion yelled at her.

Getting up, Damion began to give chase to the child-like rabbit youkai. Sadly, Tewi was way faster than he was, her being a rabbit youkai, and him being a human.

Eventually, he returned to Eirin's side after losing sight of the rabbit youkai.

"Damn it, where the hell did she even learn that term?" Damion muttered as he sat down again.

"I'm curious… what did she mean by that?" Eirin asked Damion, out of curiosity.

Damion's face went beet red upon being asked that.

"I-I-I-I-I can't… say… it's just rude… for a guy… to say to a girl" Damion responded, trying to avoid the question.

"Oh, is it something inappropriate?" Eirin asked.

"Unfortunately, it is rather inappropriate. Let's just say it's what human males on Earth call certain types of woman in terms of … adult stuff" Damion explained vaguely.

"Perhaps I should ask Keine-san what it means"

"Please don't… I don't know how you'd react to what it means, and I don't think you would want to know"

"Try me"

Damion sighed, and he felt like he was going to regret telling her.

"Alright, but don't get angry at me for telling you. It stands for…"

Damion briefly told her what it meant and stood for.

Eirin handled the term a lot better than Damion expected. She giggled at the term, and seemed to pass it off as a compliment towards herself.

"Sorry, but I'm not sure how you would react…"

"It sounds like a compliment to be called that, but also insulting at the same time" Eirin responded.

Damion decided to change the subject.

"Do you mind if I ask another question instead of going on with the topic that Tewi brought up? It's rather embarrassing to talk about with a girl"

"Sure, what else is on your mind?"

Damion had two things on his mind left. He imagined flipping a coin and choosing the topic based on the imaginary coin in his mind. The coin in the necromancer's mind landed on tails, and he went with the topic he associated with that side of the imaginary coin.

"Regarding the human village, have you tried to teach your knowledge of medicine to them instead of just selling medicine?"

"Ah, well, I am running a business of sorts, and I doubt the humans there would be able to comprehend the knowledge I know about medicine, so I just left it at just selling medicine through Reisen"

"Okay. Now the last thing on my mind was about Kaguya…sama. Why does she put up the five impossible tasks? Is it to avoid getting married, or is it because she's a sadist, or is there another reason?" Damion asked.

"Oh, that. Whenever I asked her about it, she would change the subject to something else like a request for tea or to give her a massage. Believe me, I asked her that the first day we came to Eientei, and that was her reaction to the question" Eirin answered, somewhat uneasily.

After having all his questions answer

"I see, sorry for taking so much of your time by asking these things I should've known…"

"It's not your fault; you're new to Gensokyo, and you don't know about us in great detail"

"…" Damion was silent for a moment

"What?" Eirin asked him, curious.

Then Damion turned to Eirin, and smiled.

"Thanks for understanding" Damion replied, smiling.

Eirin suddenly stood up and prompted Damion to do the same.

"Well, there's quite a bit you can do to help out, like keeping Tewi in check so that she doesn't harass Mokou-san and stop her from setting up traps for Reisen when she gets back. You could, also, help me test some new medicines that I was working on" Eirin offered.

Damion felt somewhat uneasy upon hearing the words 'test some new medicines', out of instinct. He didn't know it now, but he would later be thankful for heeding his gut feeling.

* * *

><p>Inside Eientei, in the living room where Eirin and Reisen lounge when business is closed, Damion was seated on a couch.<p>

"I'll go get Kaguya-sama to meet you, and you can become acquainted. That'll be the first thing I have you do today" Eirin said to Damion before heading into another room.

The necromancer looked around the room, mostly to see pictures of what looked like artifacts of unknown origin. Damion could only imagine them being Lunarian artworks, or pictures of existing Lunarian objects.

In another part of the room was a shelf containing books of various subjects related to Lunarians. The young man assumed that the books contained the history of the Lunarian War, the war that was supposedly just a misunderstanding of what the Lunarians believed to be an act of war against the humans.

On a desk behind where Damion was seated were several pictures of Lunarians. The necromancer thought they were important people to Eirin or to Kaguya.

The door to the back room opened, and out came Eirin. Behind her was a young girl who looked no older than 13.

Damion was dumbstruck at the girl's appearance. Rather, he hasn't seen anyone that charming before.

"So, I assume you are Damion-san?" the girl asked him.

Damion, despite being dumbstruck, answered, "Yeah"

"Mind your manners around Kaguya-sama, Damion-san. Remember, she may be a former Lunarian princess, but she has a power that might be a hassle for you" Eirin reminded him.

"Alright, alright. I'll be sure to mind my manners" Damion assured her, though he answered as if saying 'I know, now back off'.

Then, Eirin left for the pharmacy room to return to her medicine-making. Kaguya took a seat in a couch opposite side of the necromancer.

"So, I heard a bit about you from Reisen Udongein Inaba. She was talking about how you saved her from those monsters and preferring to fight with your fists instead of Danmaku" Kaguya started the conversation.

"Um… yeah, she was running away from what seemed like a weak beating. Most people would be able to handle being hit a few times and still have plenty of fight left in them to keep going" Damion replied.

"So, I assume you heard about who I am from Eirin, right?"

"Yeah. Though I'm not exactly sure if I remember all of it. There are some parts that confuse me, but I don't think I have the right to ask you just yet"

"Oh, what question is that?"

Damion felt silent for a moment.

"Please understand that I'm asking just out of curiosity, but I don't know if you are willing to answer my question"

"What might be the question?"

"I heard you send your future suitors to do five impossible tasks. My question is **why** you set up those five impossible tasks"

Kaguya fell silent upon being asked.

"I'm sorry to have asked that from the start, but it was bothering me since I first heard about it from Eirin. Forgive me for asking that question"

Instead of being brushed aside, Kaguya changed the subject.

"So I heard you recently obtained a power that calls forth your emotions given physical form. What was it… personal? Person…?"

"Persona… it's not a power that just anyone can have; it's a power that comes from a person with a strong heart, strong belief in their ideals, and a strong will. Once those three conditions are met, a person will have to wait until their shadow finds them… I assume Eirin told you the short version of the Persona thing"

"Yes, but it was difficult for me to understand"

Like everyone that said the same thing, in different ways, Damion sighed.

"Let's just call them your doppelganger that wants to expose EVERYTHING about you to the people close to you. The only way to get rid of them, and make their powers yours is to openly accept them as part of yourself, without hesitation or lying as they will know and go berserk" Damion explained using analogy.

"So, if I saw a clone of myself running around exposing all my secrets, would they be my shadow?"

"Kaguya-sama, you don't understand the severity, and importance, of meeting your shadow. Meeting your shadow is practically a test to see if you are able to handle the truth and exposure of your secrets to the people near you"

"How bad could meeting your shadow possibly be?"

"Let me explain it to you, Kaguya-sama…"

Damion began to explain, and recap everything about the shadows; what made them dangerous, his theory about what shadows would do if it was an immortal that was facing their shadows, and what would happen when a shadow goes berserk.

Kaguya's face went from curiosity to that of worry.

"Wow, now I know they're not to be taken lightly" Kaguya commented.

"Yes, but the best way to tell if your 'doppelganger' is actually your shadow is if they emit an aura of darkness, look like a sinister version of yourself, and actually know EVERYTHING about the secrets you hold dear and hidden from those closest to you. Trust me on this; I faced my shadow two days ago, when I first arrived in Gensokyo. You CANNOT face them by yourself; it's too risky" Damion warned Kaguya.

Kaguya's worry turned to curiosity.

"Why is it that you cannot face them alone?"

"It's because… most of the time, the person will reject their shadows, and that will cause them to go berserk, thus trying to kill, or eat the mind of their original. Only those with a strong heart, strong sense of their beliefs, and a strong will can stand a chance against the shadows, as it means they have obtained the power of a Persona. However, even though one gets the power of their persona by having the three qualities mentioned, they may not be able to summon or use their Persona until they face their shadow selves"

"When would a person be able to meet their shadow selves?"

"That, unfortunately, is something I don't know. I'm going to guess that it happens when something big happens in that person's life that comes as a big shock or surprise to make them falter in their beliefs, their will, or their heart" Damion speculated.

"I see, that does sound interesting"

"Kaguya-sama, it's not a matter of being interesting or not; it's a very, VERY serious matter that must not be taken lightly"

It took a while of explaining the terror of meeting one's shadow, and how embarrassing, humiliating, and how important it is to experience facing your shadow.

Then, once Kaguya took in all the information, she had the face of understanding.

"Very well, I think I have a good idea of what those shadows are" Kaguya replied.

"Thank you for understanding what it means to face…"

"HOWEVER, must come to my side and protect me from my shadow if that ever happens!" Kaguya demanded, interrupting him.

"Kaguya-sama, I cannot guarantee that I will be available during those times. Think about it, it could happen in the middle of the night, or when I'm out with Keine and her friends in the human village" Damion tried to reason with her.

"I will send someone to fetch you if that happens to me, Eirin, Reisen Udongein Inaba, or Tewi. I will make whoever you are with understand that you are needed with us more than whatever it is that you're doing" Kaguya replied, making herself sound like she is in command of everything.

"I cannot make any promises, but I will rush to the aid of whoever needs assistance against their shadows. That is the one thing I promised myself after I faced myself" the young man replied.

Kaguya then asked Damion about himself.

"So I heard from Reisen that you came from the human world, is that right?"

"Actually, yes. However, I am not from the same reality of normal people; I was actually…" Damion explained his past, his home world, and the dilemma he went through to Kaguya. He put great emphasis on the dilemma he faced, the Heinz Dilemma of having to repeat the tournament again by having his friends kill him or he can kill his friends and break the cycle of tournament that caused the instability of the world.

After a lengthy explanation of his past, he became saddened by having to bring up his past again. Sadly, Kaguya did not understand the importance of losing someone important.

"Why are you saddened? You survived that 'game', and earned your power. Yet, why are you so upset?" Kaguya asked.

Damion lost his cool at that moment.

"YOU DON'T KNOW THE PAIN OF BEING FORCED TO KILL YOUR BEST FRIENDS, OR EVEN THOSE THAT ARE VERY CLOSE TO YOU!" Damion snapped.

Kaguya was taken aback by Damion's sudden outburst.

Realizing what he did, he lowered his head in shame.

"I'm sorry, but it's just that when I hear people brush off others' pain like it was something unimportant… Sorry" he apologized.

At that point, Eirin rushed in with an angry look on her face.

"Damion-san! I told you to…" Eirin began, but was interrupted.

"No, Eirin-san… it's my fault" Kaguya admitted for Damion.

"Why are you…?"

"Eirin, please allow me to learn why he acted the way he did" Kaguya said to Eirin.

Upset, Eirin bowed and returned to her pharmacy room.

"Now, please tell me about what it's like to lose someone close to you" Kaguya asked the necromancer.

Still upset, Damion was reluctant to explain it to her.

"I'm sorry, but it's something that's difficult to put into words, Kaguya-sama" the young man apologized.

"Please, I'm curious as to your sudden rudeness"

"It's just… it's just… Damn it! It's…"

"Please take a deep breath"

Heeding Kaguya's advice, Damion did as so. He took in a deep breath, and felt his pent up anger and sorrow disappear slowly.

"Now then, what is it like to lose someone close to you?" Kaguya asked again.

Reminding himself to stay calm, Damion explained the feeling to her in detail and with an example. "Suppose you were close friends with Eirin-san. By close, I mean inseparable and can't live without one another. One day, Eirin dies of an unknown and incurable disease…"

"Eirin-san would be able to cure almost anything with her expertise in medicine and diseases"

"With all-due respect, please let me make my point"

"Very well. Let's suppose Eirin is bedridden with a disease that she doesn't know, and is unable to find the right medicine to cure said disease. What next?"

"She dies one day, after the disease goes unchecked and untreated. How would you feel upon learning your closest friend died, right in front of you?"

Kaguya took a moment to imagine the situation being presented.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not following" Kaguya replied honestly.

"Okay, let me rephrase the question; what would happen if you saw me murdering your family back on the moon, and EVERYONE in the Lunar capital?"

Kaguya's face went from curiosity to that of horror.

"You wouldn't dare!" Kaguya replied.

"Stop, Kaguya-sama. It was a 'What-if' scenario that would never actually happen. It's a situation I'm presenting to you to demonstrate a point" Damion replied.

"Oh, you should've said it was a what-if situation in the first place. I thought you were actually going to do that"

"Alright… in this 'what-if' scenario, I somehow go to the moon, kill everyone in sight, then make my way to wherever it is that the royal family lives and meet you. Your family rushes to protect you, and I murder them in front of you. How would you feel, seeing as I would've killed everyone close to you, your servants, and everyone who you ruled?"

Kaguya took another moment to imagine the scenario.

"I'd be afraid for my life, and swear vengeance to kill you"

"That's typical. I was asking about the feelings and thoughts going through your mind as you see someone brutally massacre, murder, and dismember everyone you hold dear to you. What would be going through your mind if that were to happen?" Damion asked, being very clear.

Kaguya took yet another moment to envision her feelings in that scenario. Then, Kaguya gave her answer to the question.

"That, I would feel saddened by the loss of those around me, and I would come to hate you for eternity for what you would've done in that situation" Kaguya answered.

"Now that you know the hypothetical situation, and have come to get an idea of what would've happened, you need to actually experience the loss of something important to fully understand what it's like to feel real tragedy" Damion concluded.

"Tragedy?"

"It's a word used to describe an important, major loss of something important to another person. For example, a… girl I knew… had it all; life of luxury, extremely close with her father, all the friends she could ever want, and she didn't have to work a day in her life. Tragedy struck her when her father met a woman that had the looks of a model, the beauty that only the gods and goddesses can ever hope to achieve. My friend's father, despite being married, went after this beautiful woman, but then the real tragedy began to unfold. My friend's mother exposed the father's secret relationship with that woman. My friend's father's reputation crumbled and turned to resentment, shame, and embarrassment. My friend's father's shame then fell onto my friend, and her life went downhill, similar to her father. Eventually, everyone she knew treated her the same as her father"

Kaguya imagined the scenario in her mind as the necromancer explained the idea.

Of course, Damion was referring to Fujiwara No Mokou's story, but he was very vague on the details as to who that person was.

"And…?"

"Imagine if the person in that story was you. How would you feel if the life you once had, everything you wanted was handed to you on a silver platter, and you didn't have to work a day in your life. One day, due to circumstances beyond your control, you were unable to stop the change from happening. The life of absolute luxury that you once had, now turned to that of shame, guilt, and embarrassment. How would you feel if everything you had one day turns against you and there's nothing you can do to fix it?" Damion asked her sternly.

"Well, I did have the luxurious lifestyle back on the Lunar Capitol, but I lost it when word got out of me drinking the Hourai Elixir"

"That's only a minor tragedy, losing the life of luxury, it's more like a wake-up call to the working world that your servants lived in doing everything for you" Damion explained.

"Then it is a tragedy that I went through, right?"

"It's borderline tragedy… Not quite the scale of tragedy that most people experience at least once in their lives, but a tragedy nonetheless…"

"Then yes, I have experienced tragedy"

"True, but the **severity** of a tragedy is the point I'm trying to make, Kaguya-sama. The tragedy you went through is minor, and practically says you need to wake up from your usual lifestyle to experience what it's like to be the one working" Damion pointed out.

"I still don't understand what you mean by 'severity' of a tragedy" Kaguya admitted.

"I'm going to have to ask Eirin for help explaining this, do you mind if I ask her to help me explain this in a way you would understand?"

"Very well"

Damion bowed, got up, and went to the pharmacy room.

* * *

><p>In the pharmacy room, Damion recapped his conversation with Kaguya thus far to Eirin. The part that Eirin was more focused on was the analogy that Damion used to describe Mokou's life without actually giving away the fact that it was Mokou in the story.<p>

Eirin told Damion that what he said to her was dangerous, but vague enough to avoid trouble. Damion answered, saying he knew not to tell her who the person in the story really was. Eirin sighed and dropped the subject.

The necromancer then explained why he came to her. Eirin sighed and went back with him to explain the concept to Kaguya.

* * *

><p>Back in the living room, Damion and Eirin were seated in different couches.<p>

"Kaguya-sama, I know it'll be difficult for me to explain to you, but please try to follow along. What Damion-san was getting at was how important the events were to a person when tragedy happens. For example, if you lose something important to you, and you later find out it was stolen, it's a tragedy that is minor, as the something important can most likely be replaced. If, on the other hand, the thing that's stolen is extremely important and irreplaceable, then it's a bigger tragedy than if it's something that can be replaced"

Kaguya still had a hard time understanding it.

"Suppose I kidnap everyone in Eientei, and that left you alone because I couldn't find you. You never find out that it was I who took everyone to somewhere only I know. You wonder where everyone is after realizing everyone is gone, and then realize that everyone was kidnapped. You hear word from someone that everyone that was once your friend was brutally murdered, dismembered, turned inside-out, and every means of torture imaginable happened to them"

"I would find new loyal subjects to replace them" Kaguya replied.

"Kaguya-sama! Please refrain from thinking like that!" Eirin sternly replied.

"It seems next-to-impossible for her to comprehend the idea of tragedy unless she experiences something called a trauma" Damion commented, folding his arms together.

"Wait, trauma as in head injury?" Eirin asked, getting defensive.

"No, I mean psychological trauma. In order for her to understand what it's like to experience tragedy, she needs to experience it first-hand" Damion answered Eirin.

Kaguya started to become annoyed, as the young man and the pharmacist were talking to one another in front of her, ignoring her all the while.

"Hey! I'm right here you know!" Kaguya screamed to them.

"Kaguya-sama, I think it's best you experience what it's like to go through an extremely difficult situation before you can even comprehend the idea of a REAL tragedy. As of right now, let's drop the subject" Damion said to her before turning to Eirin. "Sorry this turned out in a way that I wouldn't expect it to go, but thanks for trying to help me explain the concept to her"

"It's alright; Kaguya, despite her former royal status, has a lot to learn about the world outside luxury, so the idea is new to her" Eirin replied to Damion.

The pharmacist returned to her workplace after being there to try and explain, in vain, to Kaguya about tragedy.

"Well, enough about that, what was life like for you before coming to Gensokyo?" Kaguya asked the necromancer, changing the subject.

Damion explained the world he was in, the world of Persona, and how it was one of the most important experiences in his existence. The tower called 'Tartarus', the travels he and his friends went through, and how he met a person who he could say was a very important friend to him.

"Oh, so there was a person who was very important to you besides your best friend?" Kaguya asked, taking an interest in the person that Damion was talking about.

"I can't remember her very well, but… she was a very important person to me and my best friend. She had the same power as my best friend, would often fight one another during nights of full moons when there was an important operation going on, and, most importantly, brought me absolute happiness during the last few days that I spent before going to atone for a sin I committed two years before my best friend arrived in the world of Persona. I was reluctant to atone for my sin two years ago in that world after the last few nights before that day. If it wasn't for the comfort that important person gave me after I told her my sin, I wouldn't have been able to accept my punishment, though it had to come from someone else"

"Oh, what sin was that?"

"It was killing my friend's friend's mom died from being unable to control my Persona's actions. Though it was because of some connections my comrade had that the incident was covered up as a freak car accident, but even then, only my friends and I knew the truth. I regretted that incident, and joined the group after hearing my friend's friend's younger sister joined the organization to fight the 'shadows'. I thought it was a good idea, as it might've allowed me to atone for my sin, but… on that day, October 4th, judgment came to me in the form of a gunshot from another Persona user; a rival gang hell-bent on keeping the Dark Hour up and running and keeping their powers. Trying to protect my friend's friend's little sister, I took the bullets meant for her, and ended up in a coma instead of dying. During graduation, when I heard that my best friend and that important friend of mine weren't at the ending ceremony, I remembered where they might've been, and rushed there. That, unfortunately… well… was when I spent my last moments with her alive. She was the best friend I EVER had; she accepted me for who I was, looked past my sin and saw me as an individual, but most importantly… she was… the closest thing to a girlfriend I ever had" Damion explained in tears.

"You said 'girlfriend', what does that mean?" Kaguya asked.

Realizing that it was futile to keep a conversation going in one direction, the necromancer gave up and went along with Kaguya's new question.

"A girlfriend… is what boys consider their female friends once they're in an intimate, romantic relationship. The male equivalent would be 'boyfriend'. It's more than just being friends; it's about getting to know one another to the point where the two of them learn just about everything there is to know about each other. If the relationship deepens, then the boyfriend-girlfriend relationship between the two of the grows to that of close friends, or even lovers" Damion explained the subject as best as he could.

Kaguya then asked, "Would it be like me and you right now?"

Damion was stunned at the thought.

"No, we're just acquaintances right now. Acquaintances are people who meet and don't know much about one another, yet get along because they are getting to know one another"

"Ah, so it's not exactly being friends, right?"

"No, it is a kind of friendship, but not on the same level as being friends, Kaguya-sama"

Kaguya was confused, and she was showing her confusion.

"This is confusing"

"Let's just say we just got to know one another, but we don't know enough about one another to be considered 'friends'" Damion sighed, simplifying his explanation the best he could.

"So, how does one become friends from being acquaintances?" Kaguya asked with curiosity.

"It's simple: you talk, play with, and spend time with your acquaintances while gaining their trust. Also, trying to understand what happened to them is probably the most important step in becoming friends with other people"

"So, would you say that, by telling me about yourself, and me talking about myself, we started as acquaintances, and are starting to become friends?"

"Yes, but I don't feel like we've become friends, Kaguya-sama" Damion replied honestly.

"Well then, I order you to be my friend" Kaguya demanded.

Damion sighed. "I'm sorry, but friendship doesn't work like that, Kaguya-sama. You need to build trust, establish common grounds like interests and hobbies, spend time with, and cherish those acquaintances until they become your friend"

"Wait, then how does it work?"

"We're already working on becoming friends, but it's just that you don't realize it right now" Damion answered.

"Then please explain to me what you mean by me not realizing it"

"You may not notice it right now, but we're getting to know one another by telling each other about ourselves, establishing a sense of trust between us, and just enjoying the presence of one another"

"Huh?"

Kaguya still didn't understand, so she stopped to try and figure it out.

"I don't know if Eirin tried to explain it to you, but if her explanation didn't make sense, then you could ask Keine-san. She might be able to explain it better than I can" Damion answered.

"Geez, this is so confusing"

"I know it is, so I expect that it will take a long time for me to explain it to you to where you can understand it"

"Then, please try to explain it to me, Damion-kun" Kaguya asked him.

"Um… er… well… I'm not sure… how to … um… explain the idea… of friendship… in a way… you'd understand, Kaguya-sama" Damion stuttered.

"Very well, I shall give you a moment to think of a way to explain how friendship works" Kaguya replied.

For the next minute, Damion began to ponder how to simplify the meaning of friendship in a way that would make her understand. He also had to think of words that mean the same thing as those that are complicated words; using hard-to-understand words could backfire and distract her from the subject.

"Time's up, Damion-kun, did you come up with an explanation?" Kaguya asked him, impatiently.

"Kaguya-sama, please learn to wait until a proper explanation can be given" Damion complained.

"Well, tell me what you can come up with regarding this matter anyway"

Damion sighed in defeat. He wasn't sure whether or not he can keep up with Kaguya.

"Alright, from what I tried to make simple, acquaintances are the first level of friendship. After that is regular friendship. Third level of friendship is being best friends. Fourth level is close friends. Fifth level is boyfriend/girlfriend. Sixth level is intimacy. Seventh level is lovers. The last level is husband/wife" Damion told her, trying to make sense of it.

"Eh? So our friendship is at level 1, being acquaintances?" Kaguya asked. From that explanation, she began to grasp the concept.

"_I think I've made a little progress in explaining how friendship works_" the necromancer thought to himself.

"Yes, but I'm not ready for friendship beyond level 2"

"Why is that, Damion-kun?"

"It's just that… well… I've been to level four with a friend back in another world… and we were about to advance to level five… but she… died… trying to protect me and my friends" Damion answered her.

"Oh, but now I'm curious as to how your close friend managed to capture your heart" Kaguya asked, curious about this friend of Damion's.

Damion sighed once again. "I told you, I don't remember her much right now, but… she accepted me after learning the truth about what I was and didn't care about my faults or sins. That kind of person… can only be found through a miracle that even the gods cannot even comprehend or create" Damion answered vaguely.

"Is this friend of yours in Gensokyo?" Kaguya asked.

"No, I'm afraid she died… in another world that I've been in. What she, and my best friend, did to save us… you will probably never understand. It involves… mankind's desire to perish… given physical form… reaching out to an entity that could provide the desires mankind wanted" Damion answered.

"Then tell me the story about what happened" Kaguya demanded.

This was when Eirin entered the room with a reminder.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but it's close to sunset, and I think it's best you return to the human village, Damion-san" Eirin told the young man, entering the living room.

Damion, not realizing that time flew by so quickly, bowed to Kaguya and bid her farewell. She bowed back, and allowed him to leave.

In the pharmacy room, Damion saw that it was indeed around evening hours.

"Mokou-san is outside, and she insisted that she brought you back to the human village" Eirin told Damion.

"Why is that?"

"She said she overheard us talking about her back story, and was curious as to your response. She fled before you answered me, though"

"Oh, I guess I've got some explaining to do to her"

"By the way, what else did Kaguya-sama ask of you?"

Damion, once again, recapped the conversation he had with Kaguya. From Personas, to her curiosity of how friendship works, and his explanations of each question Kaguya asked.

"I see, she's finally taken the first step in learning how other people think" Eirin commented.

"Why, was she always so… self-centered… for lack of a better word…?"

Eirin's smiling face turned serious.

"I'm afraid she's been self-centered ever since she was a child prior to immortalization. She, like Mokou-san, had everything she ever wanted 'handed to her on a silver platter' as you humans say. She never really understood what it's like to be the one working, or how others feel, or even how friendship works" Eirin explained.

"Is that so?"

"I'm thankful that you managed to open her up to the idea of friendship, and I hope she learns from you what it means to be a friend instead of treating others like servants"

"I see, I didn't know that was such a big deal"

"It is, but I think you should go home with Mokou-san. I **was** going to have Reisen-san take you there, but Mokou-san came as I mentioned your name, and pestered me to let her take you home"

Hearing this, Damion felt somewhat anxious about what Mokou might say to her.

"Alright; I'll see you another day?" Damion asked.

"Come by tomorrow if you can, I'm sure Kaguya-sama would like to learn more about friendship and you"

"Alright, see you tomorrow then"

Bowing, Damion promised to return tomorrow, and left the mansion.

* * *

><p>Outside, Fujiwara No Mokou was waiting for the necromancer.<p>

She had a look of anxiety and curiosity.

"Hello, Damion" she greeted.

"Hello"

Mokou led the necromancer out of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, fidgeting all the while. Damion noticed this fidgeting and asked her about it.

"Something seems to be on your mind, Mokou. Is there something you'd like to talk about?" Damion asked politely.

Mokou didn't answer for a few seconds, until Damion asked again.

"Eh? Sorry, I was just wondering about how you would react… to… my story… that you heard from Eirin" Mokou replied hesitantly.

Damion then realized at this point that it was Mokou that he sensed earlier. He sighed and began to tell her his thoughts about her story.

"Mokou, you are not the one at fault for what happened to your family… I don't know if you still respect your father, but I blame his greed for your misfortune. You… did… nothing… wrong"

"But… but… I gave up on him" Mokou admitted, tears now flowing down her face.

Damion opened his arms and asked, "Do you need to use my shoulder to cry on?"

Mokou, without answering, turned to and ran into Damion's arms. She cried on his shoulder for a minute.

"There, there Mokou. I'll be your support in times of weakness like these" he quietly said to her.

After what seemed like five minutes, Mokou stopped crying and tried to straighten up.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like this… but I'm… not good with others hearing what happened to me… prior to coming to Gensokyo" Mokou admitted, sniffling.

"You were weak after becoming immortal, but then you came to Gensokyo… and you became emotionally strong, by starting anew with friends like Keine-san, putting the past behind you. You're a lot stronger, emotionally, than I was when I had to make that difficult decision in my home world" Damion said to Mokou quietly.

His comforting words made Mokou feel better, and she eventually came to smiling instead of feeling regret.

"Thanks, Damion. Your words mean a lot to me" Mokou replied, smiling.

Damion then let go of her, knowing that it would make others think they were in a relationship if he held onto her after showing support.

"I believe I said it before, but I refuse to leave a friend behind. If necessary, I will be the support for friends during their time of need, unlike my past self" Damion quietly told her.

"You're too kind; it almost hurts to have you as a friend"

Damion misunderstood what she meant, and backed off.

"Sorry if it hurts…"

Mokou, realizing that it was a misunderstanding, tried to explain what she meant. "No you dummy, it means your kindness is just… too good for a person like me"

Damion processed what she really meant, and apologized for the misunderstanding.

"Most guys would take advantage of girls when they're weak in order to do… perverted stuff to them, but I'm not like those bastards; I'll never let my friends get hurt or bullied" Damion swore.

Mokou, now understanding Damion even better, leaned up towards him and kissed him in the cheek.

The young man blushed from the sudden act, and backed off.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what was... that for?" He asked, stuttering.

Mokou giggled. "Don't you know what that is? It's a kiss"

"A k-k-k-k-k-kiss?"

Mokou nodded.

"I was told that kisses worked differently and…"

"No, those kisses you're thinking about are romantic, lovey-dovey kisses couples give one another"

"Oh, I guess there are other kinds of kisses… damn… I desperately need to learn what this romance thing is and why girls consider it so important" the necromancer said to himself, not realizing he said it aloud.

Mokou chuckled at Damion's honesty, and continued walking him to the human village.

"You probably won't learn it from girls, but I can probably say you have to learn it by yourself" Mokou advised him.

"Learn it… by myself…? The thing is… I don't even know the first thing about romance" Damion admitted.

"Well, the first thing about romance is to first know how you feel about the person you like. If you really like that other person, you have to let them know that you like them… romantically"

"Just… let them know… my feelings for them?"

"Yeah, romance isn't that complicated; it's just… okay, maybe a little complicated, but relatively simple, Damion" Mokou added.

"I'm in a similar situation as Kaguya; we're not sure about certain things, like her being curious about what friendship is, and me not knowing what romance is"

Mokou frowned upon hearing Kaguya's name. However, soon after realizing everything that Damion said, she asked him, "Wait, you said Kaguya doesn't understand what friendship is?"

"Yeah. She apparently doesn't understand what it's like to work for something, what it feels like to get an idea of how others think about her, and how to treat others like equals" Damion added.

"Huh, I never knew that she was so ignorant of life outside royalty" Mokou admitted.

"Really? I thought you knew everything about her, being her bitter enemy and all"

"Well, we only fight and fight, never really getting to know one another, but I guess… I should probably… well… um… perhaps… try to talk with her…?"

"That actually sounds like a good idea, but… I'm not sure if Kaguya will be willing to do the same. In fact, I don't know how it'll be possible for me to even make the arrangements"

"Sorry, maybe it was an idea that is impossible to do" Mokou apologized.

"Well, I can try, but I'm not sure how Kaguya will react to the thought of wanting to talk things over with you"

"Well, let's start small and introduce the idea of talking to her, but don't mention my name; I want this to be a surprise to her when she realizes that I want to talk, not fight"

"Actually, hold off on that until Kaguya learns sympathy and what it's like to put herself 'in the shoes of another person'. That is, IF she learns and grasps the concept in the first place" Damion replied.

"Eh? Did you say she doesn't know what it's like to understand others?"

Damion shook his head and sighed. "She doesn't know what it's like to think about situations from another person's perspective… Perhaps… maybe this is the reason… well, it's just a theory…"

Mokou eyed the necromancer suspiciously when he stuttered. "A theory? What is it about?"

Damion knew he wasn't going to be able to hide it forever, so he told her his theory. "Perhaps the reason for you two fighting is because she doesn't know what it's like to look at the other side of an argument"

"Really?"

"I need to know one thing: Did you try to explain why you hate Kaguya to her whenever you two were fighting?"

This questions took Mokou by surprise.

"W-w-w-w-what! T-t-t-talk to her… about… why I hate her?"

"Yes. I don't know if you realize this, but some fights never get resolved because of a misunderstanding between two people because one person is missing an important fact about another person. It's like two lovers suddenly fighting because the girlfriend suspects her boyfriend cheating on her with a co-worker. The boyfriend tries to explain that he tried to keep his co-worker away from him in a romantic way, but the girlfriend won't accept the truth"

"Wait, so you're saying… that Kaguya and I will continue fighting… until we both come… to understand one another?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid there are conditions that must be met in order for a person to be completely ready to accept facts… like, for example, during their moment of weakness after a major tragedy happened to them"

"So… we have a plan, but… we need to wait for the right opportunity?"

"Yes. The best chance for us to get Kaguya to understand sympathy would probably… no, that's just risky… but… it could work… but…" Damion began pondering aloud.

Now Mokou was even more curious.

"What? What opportunity would work?"

"I'm eventually going to have to come clean, but this needs to stay our secret; If Eirin, Tewi, Reisen Inaba, or even Kaguya herself gets wind of this plan, then it'll be almost impossible for me to come up with another plan to make her understand sympathy AND possibly cause her to understand your pain" Damion warned her.

"I'm listening"

He explained to her the necessary conditions that needed to be met, in theory, to potentially turn Mokou's bitterness towards Kaguya into understanding for one another. It could also very well turn their hatred into friendship, but only if the circumstances are ideal, go exactly as Damion theorized, and only if Kaguya is willing to open up to and listen to Mokou once the first two requirements are met. The plan was complicated, and can best be described in one phrase, 'a single moment can change the future'.

Mokou, despite hearing the plan, was unable to comprehend it, and unable to figure out how it worked. "Sorry, but I don't understand the plan of yours"

"That is fine, as it mostly involves you doing what you would naturally do, assuming that you want to change your relationship with Kaguya-san. However, the most important part of the plan… is **you**, Mokou"

The last part was the only thing that Mokou understood.

"Huh? It's my choice?"

"Yes. If what I hope doesn't happen to Gensokyo actually happens, then I need to prepare Kaguya-san for this by informing her about sympathy and teaching her about looking at another person's perspective"

"Then… what am I supposed to do in this plan?"

"If the conditions are met, and I **will** tell you when everything is perfect, then you will have an opportunity to turn your hatred of Kaguya-san into understanding for one another. The most important part is whether you want the change to happen or not"

"Hold on, why can't you tell her I want her to understand what I went through?"

"It doesn't work that way… I'm sorry, but if a point is to be made effectively, it needs to be done right, and be told by the right person. Anything less would be ineffective or completely useless"

"I don't understand"

Damion chuckled and explained it using an analogy. "Suppose there was news about Yukari Yakumo willing to take someone to Gensokyo back in your home world. Both your parents learned about this, and they wanted to tell you about it. The question is, which parent would you be more willing to believe?"

Mokou thought about it for a moment, despite being a simple question that didn't need much thought.

"I'd believe my father"

"Now here's the next question: Why would you be more willing to believe your father instead of your mother?" Damion asked.

"Well… Um… Uh… I guess it's because I trust my father more?"

"Sure, let's go with that. Now then, let's imagine the same exact situation, but it was Yukari Yakumo who came to you instead of your parents. Would you believe her, or your parents?"

"Why are you asking the same situation?"

"It's not the same situation, it's the same question but having to believe either Yukari Yakumo or your parents"

Mokou hesitated for a moment.

"I don't get it, but I'd believe my father over that gap youkai any day"

"Now then, here's what I'm getting at, regarding the moment you tell Kaguya your thoughts: She would believe me to a certain extent, but if it came from you, she would be surprised at the unexpected behavior of you trying to help her, and then you tell her your thoughts… she will most likely accept the change"

"Do you really expect her to become that weak from that plan?"

"This is just a theory at the moment, as I don't know whether or not it will actually happen. I am, however, quite sure that she will have a moment of weakness similar to what I went through"

"I don't know, Damion… it sounds like it'll never happen… and even if it does happen, I don't know if Kaguya will be willing to hear me out. It's just your imagination that's doing the talking instead of your brain"

"I wish that was the case, but there are a lot of factors that you don't understand. One of them is personality changes in moments of weakness. You probably heard from Keine-san how I behaved differently when I was faced with my shadow self, right?"

"Wait, was what Keine-san said about you during your confrontation two days ago actually real?"

"Yes. It usually takes something big like facing reality, experiencing a major tragedy, or understanding another person to make a change in a person"

Mokou was beginning to understand where Damion was going with this line of logic.

"Alright, I don't quite understand, but I'll try to figure it out as the time comes near when this plan of yours comes to pass" Mokou replied.

"Good. I'm not doing this JUST for your sake, but also for Kaguya-san's as well"

"Why Kaguya's sake?"

"It's because… She's taken the first step towards learning what it's like to be your average person instead of being a spoiled princess; she's learning about how friendship works, and how friendship evolves over time. Once I'm able to explain what that is to her, I'll probably try to explain in detail methods used to improve friendship. Then, and only then, will I test Kaguya-san about her understanding of how she sees what other people are to her"

"And…?"

"If, by a small stroke of luck, she actually learns that people are not servants to her, then perhaps I can slowly get her to understand that not everything revolves around her" Damion added.

"Huh, it sounds like you have taken a job as Kaguya's tutor on the life of the average person"

"It's not a job unless it's official; I'm just getting to know her as acquaintances, and it's through my acquaintanceship with her that she's starting to learn about how others think and behave"

"Wow, you seem to have already planned that far ahead?"

"Actually, no. I only thought of this plan a few moments ago while we were talking. I only realized that I've taken the first step without realizing it before"

Mokou was disappointed at the honesty.

"I thought you might've started this plan as soon as you met her"

"Not really. I'm going to try and set up the foundation for the plan and… create the board for this little 'game'"

The mention of the word 'game' made Mokou upset.

"A 'game'? You think me and Kaguya are PAWNS in this 'game'!"

"I'm speaking figuratively! I'm trying to say that if all falls into place; it will create an opportunity for you to change your relationship with Kaguya from bitter enemies to acquaintances, or even friends who understand one another"

Upon the necromancer clearing the misunderstanding, Mokou calmed down.

"Geez, you had me worried that me and Kaguya were just playthings to you"

"I would never treat my friends as parts to a plan without telling them"

"Then, did you tell Kaguya?"

"There's a reason why I can't tell anyone at Eientei; if they get word of this plan, then they will tell Kaguya-san, and the plan will fail before it even begins"

"It doesn't feel right for you to leave them in the dark about this"

"I know, but if I tell them, then they will try to prevent this plan from working. If they remain in the dark and see the plan in motion, they are very likely to understand what's really going on, and be more willing to accept the final result of the plan… It's outcome versus effort"

Mokou then sighed, not understanding what the young man was thinking. "Alright, I give up. What is it that I have to do, exactly?"

"You don't have to a thing unless I tell you what needs to be done. As for right now, just act the way you normally do and pretend like you never heard this plan. After the plan is carried out, whether it fails or succeeds, I will tell everyone in Eientei, except Kaguya, what the plan was"

"Alright, I'll just leave it to you. Though, I suppose you might want to get assistance from Sanae Kochiya; she has the power to cause miracles to occur"

The mention of Sanae having that power left Damion curious.

"Huh? She has the power to cause miracles to occur?"

"Yeah. If you can rope her into this plan, and make her swear secrecy, then I think it might be possible for it to happen" Mokou pointed out.

Damion took a moment to consider the possibility. He was thinking that if this Sanae person had the power that Mokou said she had, then the chances of this plan working could increase significantly. However, it also poses a threat if Sanae tells those in Eientei the plan the necromancer came up with.

"I'll consider it, but as of right now, I'll get to work to set up the foundation for the desired result"

During the rest of the walk to the human village, Mokou asked Damion about various aspects of his plan so she could get a better idea of what to expect, what she was supposed to do, and how to actually make the change… for better or worse.

* * *

><p>Eventually, when the two of them arrived at the human village, nighttime was just beginning.<p>

"Alright, I'll probably come by tomorrow to pick you up again" Mokou offered.

"Thanks, I look forward to tomorrow"

Mokou and Damion bowed to one another, and the former left to return to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

Damion then turned to the velvet blue door that was floating near the entrance to the human village.

He took out the key he was given in last night's 'dream' and inserted it into the door. The door clicked upon having the key inserted, and it opened. Damion stepped inside.

* * *

><p>In the Velvet Room church, Damion took a seat opposite side of Igor like he did back in his dream.<p>

"It's good to see you again, Damion" Igor greeted as Damion took a seat.

"Igor and I were just talking about your plan to help your friend, and we think you might be using an evil method" Margaret interjected.

"Really? How else do you think I might be able to help my friends get the same result… using a more 'tame' method?"

"Well, we weren't sure of that at this time, but it's just our conclusion to that idea of yours"

"Now, now, Margaret. We aren't here to criticize his plan. He has come here on his own will, and now I must honor his time with us" Igor politely scolded his assistant.

Margaret bowed, and returned to her usual stoicism.

"Let me get to the point… is there something for us to discuss that is so important that needed a lot of my free time?"

"Yes, Damion. I'm going to tell you about what I did for your friend, and offer you the same service I gave to him; the ability to fuse multiple personas to form stronger ones. Your friend, Drake, has used my services extensively, and thus, creating a vast number of Personas that even we thought were impossible to fuse with certain abilities"

"Fusing Personas? That explains why he had a different Persona for almost every occasion"

"There's more; Even though he asked us to transfer the power of the Wild Card to you, it is forbidden for us to give another Wild Card user the same compendium that another used" Margaret added.

Damion wasn't surprised. "That kind of makes sense, as I would be too powerful if I simply used his Personas and stuff"

"Now then, I regret to inform you that my ability to fuse Personas is not perfect; in fact, accidents may happen where a fused Persona may be different from what I tell you. I am, however, absolutely positive that accidents will NEVER happen to the fusion of four or more Personas" Igor apologized in advance.

"That's okay; it's kind of similar to how my plan can fail at any time"

"True, but not on the same scale as my Persona fusing ability"

"Heh, alright. Is there anything else I need to know?"

Margaret explained her role to him. "I have set up a compendium specific to you and your Personas. Any Personas you gather, find, or fuse, will be recorded in the compendium. Despite it being a record, it can also allow you to summon Personas from the compendium, provided that you have recorded the Personas in the compendium in the first place. There will, however, be a fee for summoning a Persona from the compendium. There's one other thing; you won't be able to fuse Personas that are stronger than you in terms of level, so please be aware of that"

"Sounds reasonable"

"Now then, sometimes, when you win a battle, cards will appear in your mind. It may come in the form of a sword, wand, coin, cup, or Persona card. Those cards, despite being in your mind, have real world effects. You can choose to reach out to a card and gain one of the cards' effects, or you can turn away from the cards. You have to reach out to the cards using your hand in your mind. The cards' effects are as follows: Sword will bestow upon you weapons for you and your friends, Wand will increase experience gained from battle or boost your Personas' stats, coin will magically give you money, cup will restore yours and your friends' health, and Persona cards will bestow you with the Persona shown in the card" Igor explained.

"This is confusing"

"Don't worry, your friend, Drake, said the exact same thing when I told him what I told you" Igor chuckled.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Damion asked them.

"I'm afraid I've explained everything there is to explain tonight, and now it's time I let you get some sleep in this new world you're in" Igor answered.

"Another friend of yours just came outside of the village, and is walking towards you as we speak" Margaret added.

"Alright, I'll come visit again"

"No need to sound polite; we are under contractual obligation to serve you as needed, so feel free to use our abilities as needed for you to hone your power" Igor added.

"Alright, I'll see you another time" Damion shot back before bowing, and getting up to leave the Velvet Room.

* * *

><p>Back outside the human village, Damion came to his senses just before Keine could talk to him, though it didn't stop her from asking.<p>

"What were you doing, staring at the human village?" Keine asked.

Damion shook his head, faking the 'staring off into space' act.

"Oh, sorry. I must've gotten lost in my thoughts" Damion replied to her.

"Geez, you looked like something was on the wall and found it interesting" Keine teased.

"Sorry about that"

"Anyway, one of the parents of the children I teach wanted to bring you into their home for the night, and asked me to get your opinion on the matter"

Damion was somewhat relieved to hear this. "Um, sure"

"It was their kid that persuaded them to make the offer"

"Their kid?"

"He says that you told him that his support was enough to bring you happiness. I think his name was Suzaku-kun"

Remembering the name, Damion's face went from confusion to that of happiness.

"Sure, I wonder how he's doing right now" Damion replied.

Keine then led the necromancer into the village.

* * *

><p>In the village, the village guardian dropped off the young man at the home of the family that invited the necromancer to stay.<p>

The kid that Damion met, Suzaku, was overjoyed to see him. He was quick to try and introduce him to his family. The family introduced themselves, and Damion introduced himself.

That night, over dinner, the necromancer was being asked about himself, prior to coming to Gensokyo, then the questions started moving towards rumors saying that Damion might be a youkai hunter. Damion had to stop himself from telling the details about shadows, his necromancy, and other details that could make the family uneasy about him. As for the rumors that he was being told about, the young man declined the rumors, saying he doesn't hunt youkai without a GOOD reason, like self-defense.

Fortunately, there was a spare room for the necromancer to rest in for the night, and he thanked the family for their hospitality before going up to the room and crashing for the night.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER<p>

Author's note: I know its 1.5 or 3 times the usual length, but I felt that splitting this one day in two chapters would make it difficult for the readers to follow. As for Fujiwara No Mokou's back story, I improvised based on the facts that I gathered from the Touhou Wikia. I know I should give a proper story, but I went with what I put; as detailed as I can make it.


	5. Shadow Chen

DISCLAIMER: I don't own a thing except my OCs

* * *

><p>The next morning, the young man was woken up by the family he was staying with. Rather, it was their child that pestered Damion to wake up. He hesitated at first, but agreed to wake up and get ready for the day.<p>

The morning didn't exactly start off as the young man wanted, but it did the job of waking him up. Once getting things ready, he went to have breakfast with the family. Over breakfast, the parents were asking Damion more about himself. The necromancer had to keep information about what he did to his friends, his power to summon Death, his loyalty to Death, and his power of Persona… all that information he had to keep secret from the family.

Thanking the family for their hospitality, he left the building after saying farewell to them after finishing breakfast with the family.

* * *

><p>It was relatively early in the day, but he found Keine Kamishirasawa returning from outside the village. Damion, curious as to what was going on, went up to her to ask about it.<p>

When the young man asked Keine about what she was doing outside, she replied saying that Damion had perfect timing.

"Ah, perfect timing, Damion-san. There's another person who has taken an interest in the rumors about a guy in Gensokyo; In fact, there are two people outside who want to speak to you" Keine said to Damion as she passed him.

Damion, curious, left the village to see who it was.

* * *

><p>Outside, there was what looked like a teenage girl in a black skirt and white blouse, in one had was what looked like a journal's notebook, and her other hand was a pen. There was a leaf-fashioned fan hanging around the arm that was holding the pen. She had medium-sized black hair, and red eyes. The thing that made the necromancer uneasy were the large crow wings on her back.<p>

The other person was best described as a witch. A large witch's hat on her long, blonde hair, and matching witch's clothing. She was also wearing a white apron of sorts, which Damion thought hindered the witch look. In one hand was what Damion expected of a witch: A broom of sorts.

"Yo, new guy" the witch greeted energetically.

"I've only heard rumors about a new guy, and I suppose it's you?" the crow-winged girl said to him.

"Let's just introduce ourselves before starting this conversation" Damion suggested. "I'm Damion, a necromancer who's lacking in basic spells, yet skilled in necromancy. I arrived in Gensokyo a few days ago through that Yukari Yakumo girl, and I'm still learning about Gensokyo with help from Mokou-san, Keine-san, and Reimu-san… speaking of Reimu-san, I was so caught up with the last few days of getting used to life here that I forgot to check in with her"

"Ah, so your name is Damion, eh? I'm Marisa Kirisame. Nice to meet ya" the witch enthusiastically said to the necromancer, extending her arm.

Damion did the same, grabbing her hand to shake it like people usually do when they meet one another.

"I'm Aya Shimeimaru, reporter and writer of the Bunbunmaru newspaper" Aya did the same, extending her arm to Damion's. Damion did the same to her, shaking her hand.

"Okay, now that we're acquainted, what brings you to see me? Other than to investigate a rumor?" Damion asked them.

"Well, I heard the news from Reimu that she sent you to find me, but I guess the other way around happened" Marisa explained.

"So, who told you about what Reimu-san needed?" Damion asked the witch.

"It was me, though it was difficult to find Marisa since she's usually at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, or at Kourindo, or youkai hunting at Youkai Mountain" Aya answered.

"Ah… wait, at the Scarlet Devil Mansion? I was going there to see if you were there a few days ago, but I guess my curiosity of Gensokyo got the better of me" Damion answered, laughing embarrassedly.

"Ah, I was there a few days ago to borrow some interesting books…"

"You mean steal them" the necromancer interrupted.

"Ah, so you heard about me from her huh?" Marisa chuckled embarrassedly, rubbing the back of her head.

"Not just from Reimu-san, but also from Reisen Inaba"

"Wait, you just called Reisen Udongein Inaba 'Reisen Inaba'… are you two in a relationship?" Marisa teased.

Damion, upon being teased took a fighting stance and prepared himself to actually fight Marisa. The witch saw this sign of aggression, and pulled out what looked like a wooden block with magic symbols on it; a mini Hakkero.

"I call her that because of what happened shortly after arriving in the human village" Damion said to Marisa almost threateningly.

"Ooh, this sounds like a scoop" Aya commented.

"Actually, I prefer you DON'T make news of it, as it may scare or cause the humans in the village to shun me" Damion replied to Aya's comment.

"Is it personal?" Aya asked.

Damion nodded then warned her, "It's a VERY serious matter that I hope doesn't happen to anyone soon. I would tell you, but I don't want the humans to catch wind of this; they would panic, shun me, or even treat me the same as those associated with demons, Satanism, or otherwise evil"

"How bad can it be?" Marisa asked him.

"It's going to be a long, LONG explanation, so I suggest you both clean your ears. I'm not going to repeat myself" Damion advised them before telling about the problem.

He began with his story of the world of Persona. He explained to them what 'shadows' are, what they do, why they are important, and how they relate to Personas. He then explained to them about what Personas are, how they're related to 'shadows'… and most importantly, how one obtains a Persona. Damion then told them about the process in detail about how one gets a Persona, from the conditions that needed to be met, how it is almost impossible for one person to deal with their 'shadow' alone, the psychological fear of having the truth about oneself being exposed and having to face said truths. He then told them about his encounter with his own 'shadow' a few days ago, how his 'shadow' was really his past self reminding him of his worst moment in his life, telling him that he was really a weakling who relied on others. He then explained to them that, with the help of Keine and Reisen, he was able to stand up to his 'shadow' and prove his past self wrong; that he isn't as weak as he once was, that he can stand up for himself, that he wouldn't abandon his friends, and, most importantly, it took the support of his friends to help him come to realize that he neglected his past self. The emotions, memories, and experiences of his past self being suppressed were desperate to be acknowledged, so it took on physical form to confront Damion, as his 'shadow', and expose his past that he didn't want others to know, mostly due to fear of rejection, being treated as an outcast, and despised for what he did despite the situation being a Heinz Dilemma (He, of course, explained what a Heinz Dilemma was).

"Wow, that sounds like a fantasy story that I could write up and put in a special edition of the Bunbunmaru Newspaper" Aya remarked, writing down every detail into her small notebook.

"Aya, it's not something that you can just write about freely; you, like most people that I've told here in Gensokyo, do not realize the terror of meeting your 'shadow' self. It's not as easy as it sounds to simply accept the things your 'shadow' self says; you need to accept them as part of you… completely, truthfully, and honestly despite being told what you really are and other things about you that you don't want to accept" Damion warned her.

"So, if I was to meet my shadow self, would it be the same as fighting myself?" Marisa joked.

"This is no time for jokes, you two. You obviously don't understand what it means to face your 'shadow' self" Damion tried to explain to them.

"Eh? So you're saying these 'shadow selves' are stronger than a dragon and Yukari Yakumo?" Marisa asked.

"What are you talking about? A dragon? I know a friend who has one as a friend, but Yukari Yakumo being powerful?"

"You don't know about dragons of Gensokyo?"

"What's so special about them? Aren't they just overgrown lizards, mutated to grow wings, and typically depicted breathing fire or another breath of pure elemental magic?" Damion asked, trying to figure out what made dragons in Gensokyo so special.

Aya and Marisa looked at one another, clearly telling one another 'he does not know' without actually saying those words.

Then, Aya took the liberty to explain it.

"Dragons, according to Gensokyo myths, are so rare that they could be considered legendary and one-of-a-kind. The last known sighting of a dragon was around the time the Hakurei Border was created, and the dragon back then had powers so great, it could create or destroy anything it wanted to. As such, people of Gensokyo regarded dragons to be the highest order of god" Aya explained with a serious expression.

"Wow, sounded like a dragon that Kai might've been friends with, hated, or is a partner with" the necromancer commented.

"Kai?" Aya asked.

"The name of my friend's dragon. He and I didn't quite get along well, but we do know that he and I are friends with my friend"

"Wow, you must be lucky to have a friend who has a dragon as their pet" Marisa and Aya commented together.

"I don't exactly know what Kai's power is, but I heard from my friend that he's trying to take human form and become human-like because of his interest in humans" Damion added.

"Oh, I thought that Kai dragon was the same dragon from Gensokyo myth" Marisa sighed, disheartened.

"Wow, this is definitely big news; you know someone who has a dragon for a pet. I tell you, if this gets out to everyone in Gensokyo, people will be looking for your friend like there's no tomorrow" Aya said to him, writing down notes on the dragon part.

"Anyway, is there something else that I need to know?" Damion asked the girls.

"Actually, I came here to interview you for an article in the Bunbunmaru Newspaper" Aya admitted.

Damion sighed.

"As long as we don't talk about the really personal stuff like my 'shadow' or anything related to my past self"

"Alright"

Aya began asking general questions about Damion; who he was, where he came from, his talents and abilities, his friends (More questions about this were aimed at finding out about Kai than about Damion's friend, Drake), what he's been doing in Gensokyo and how long he's been here.

Then, Marisa noticed something in Damion's pocket. Stealthily, she swiped the gun-shaped object in Damion's pocket; his evoker.

"Hey, is this what humans call a 'gun'?" Marisa asked, pointing said device at Aya.

Damion made no attempt to stop the thieving witch from trying to 'shoot' the gun at Aya, but he did jump at her to retrieve the stolen evoker.

Eventually, it came to the necromancer knocking down, and falling to the ground with Marisa; Damion trying to get the evoker back from her, and Marisa trying to keep her loot away from the necromancer.

"Damn it, Marisa… GIVE THAT BACK!" Damion yelled to her, trying to force her hands open to retrieve the device.

"No, I like this gun, and I'm borrowing it" Marisa argued back.

More fighting and wrestling later, Damion was able to retrieve his evoker from Marisa. The witch wasn't too happy about her stolen loot being stolen back by its owner. Instead, she pulled out her mini-hakkero and pointed said object at the necromancer.

Damion responded by taking the evoker, and pointing it at his head.

Marisa, upon seeing this, freaked out.

"Whoah, hold on there, buddy. Just because I borrowed that thing from you doesn't mean you have to… you know, commit suicide" Marisa said to Damion, thinking it was a suicide attempt.

"She's right, there's no need for you to kill yourself, Damion!" Aya added.

Damion, seeing this as an opportunity to get a point across to them, used their ignorance of evokers to his advantage.

"Look, this 'gun' of mine is special in the sense that it allows me to summon the power of my Persona. I already told you what Personas are, and now you see one method of summoning said Persona" Damion said to them, mostly being stern towards Marisa.

Marisa, upon hearing this, became fascinated with the concept of Personas.

"Heh, I bet all I need to do is to see if Patchouli has a book about 'shadows' and then experiment with making a potion that draws out emotions, rejected ideas, and the such" Marisa commented.

"I wish it was that easy, Marisa-san, but I don't think it's easy to simply use magic to force those emotions out of you" Damion responded.

"Eh, why not?" Marisa asked again.

"If there was a medication that forced out your emotions and rejected feelings in the form of your 'shadow' self, then maybe I might be able to work with you and help introduce Gensokyo to a way to… well, fight" Damion muttered.

"This sounds important; Personas, 'Shadows', evokers… I can't pass this up!" Aya said as she began scribbling notes as fast as she could.

"Aya! I told you, if humans in the village get word of this, then it would cause me to be an outcast among the humans" Damion scolded.

"Just drop it, Damion. Once she finds something interesting, she'll write about it. Besides, nobody really takes her work seriously, as most of the stuff she writes is exaggerated or blatant lies" Marisa tried to tell the necromancer.

"I wonder about that" Damion pondered. He then gave up on the subject, leaving it to chance and hope that Aya leaves his story as an exaggeration.

The three of them talked away for the next two or three hours about various topics, ranging from personal questions about the necromancer, to explanations about themselves. Damion was cautious about Marisa, as if waiting for her to make another attempt at stealing something of his. Fortunately, Marisa was behaving quite well, without making an attempt to steal something. Eventually, Aya returned to the interview she was interrupted in, and resumed asking questions for her article.

Eventually, Marisa asked about the evoker, how it worked, and then asked about something that was engraved on it: S.E.E.S.

Damion complimented Marisa's sharpness, and explained about what the engraving meant.

"Good eye, thief. What's etched into my evoker… was actually the group I was part of, left, and then rejoined later back in the Persona world" Damion began.

"Huh, sees? Like I'm 'seeing' something?" Marisa joked.

"No, it stood for 'Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad'. On paper, the group was a school club, but in reality, it was a group of Persona users that fought 'shadows' during the Dark Hour back then.

"A school club? That sounded like a lame reason to start a school club" Marisa answered bluntly.

"True, I agree with you on that, but… it was the only way for the school to see our group together without realizing what we really do. It was the only way for them to give us a private dorm, though we left out what we really did, and it was thanks to another of my friend's friend that we were able to get a private dorm" the necromancer explained.

"Sounds complicated" Marisa complained.

"It is, but that's just how things worked back there" Damion added.

"So, where did you fight shadows?"" Aya asked him.

Damion went silent for a moment, mostly to figure out a way to explain it to them.

"Sorry for the silence, but I'm trying to come up with an explanation for you two to understand" Damion admitted before thinking about how to break the news to them.

"Do those 'shadows' come out and attack people during the day?" Marisa asked him.

"No, it takes place between one day and the next… difficult for me to explain"

"They appear at midnight?"

"Sort of… but back then, there was a timeframe between one day and the next that lasted for one hour"

"How does a single second between one day and the next last for an hour?"

"That's what I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how to tell you. The best explanation would be for you to have experienced it, but I highly double that's possible as there's no reason for Gensokyo to have the Dark Hour"

"Wait, what's the Dark Hour?" Aya and Marisa asked together.

Damion sighed. "It's the one hour between one day and the next, always at midnight every night back in that world. Regular people without the ability to have 'shadows' cannot experience the Dark Hour, so they're transmogrified into coffins, sleeping through the Dark Hour until said timeframe is over, in which they turn back into humans. When that happens, it'll be like nothing happened to the human" Damion explained to them.

"So… how did one enter this 'Dark Hour'?" Marisa asked him.

"That's the thing I don't completely understand, but I do know that people with Personas are able to enter the Dark Hour. There were a group of scientists that were able to artificially enter the Dark Hour using some kind of scientific breakthrough, but I never found out how they did so to study the 'shadows'" Damion explained.

"So then, what's so special about the Dark Hour?" Aya asked.

Then, Marisa interrupted. "I'm sorry, but this sounds like a scary story for Halloween or some horror story for scaring people around campfires" She was laughing all the while.

Pointing the evoker to his head again, he warned the witch, "You may see it like that, but I'm telling you everything based on first-hand experience, or personal experience that I actually went through, braved, and survived until that moment"

Taking out her mini-hakkero again, she pointed the object at the necromancer.

"Don't make me give you a taste of my Master Spark, just because I was sharing my thoughts and you didn't like them" Marisa threatened.

"Perhaps you need to experience what it's like to fight a Persona or copy my memories of those times for you to understand everything" Damion countered, ready to pull the trigger on his evoker.

Aya then stood between the witch and the necromancer, practically trying to prevent them from starting a battle outside the human village.

"Stop! The humans might panic if they see you fighting Marisa" Aya pointed out.

This worked to an extent, as Marisa put her mini-hakkero back in her hat, and Damion placed the evoker back in its gun holster on his waist.

"Point taken" was the necromancer's reply.

"Fine" Marisa pouted.

Aya, having prevented a fight outside the village, asked her question to Damion again.

"Anyway, what was so special about the Dark Hour?" Aya asked again.

Damio explained, "It's during that time, back then, that our high school turns into this twisted, demented looking tower. The organization that we fought, Strega, called it the 'Tower of Demise', while S.E.E.S. called it 'Tartarus'. 'Tower of Demise' was more accurate in the sense that its existence was to be a waypoint for an entity of destruction to make its way here and end all life as we know it in a horrible way… by taking away mankind's will to live. Through that method, the people would become lethargic, antisocial, and otherwise neglectful of themselves" Damion explained.

Marisa was giving a fake 'I am scared' look on her face, which showed that she isn't taking this seriously. This ticked Damion off.

"Wow, that does sound evil… for a campfire horror story" Marisa laughed.

The young man grabbed his evoker again, and pointed it at his head threateningly. Marisa, in response grabbed the mini-hakkero from under her hat and pointed it at Damion.

"Not again!" Aya sighed. Her patience with Marisa's insensitivity was getting to her.

Once again, she got between the witch and the necromancer, forcing them away from one another.

"Just tell me about what happened after that incident that nearly caused the destruction of mankind" Aya asked Damion sternly.

"After that… I believe I heard from my friends that yet another incident happened on May 31st, where the 'shadows' returned, but from an underground part of our dorm. Surprisingly, there was a sort of seal on the dorm on that day, and things went to hell. From what I heard, everyone saw the pasts of each other, and soon learned of an opportunity to either see what happened in the past, or escape from the seal. I only heard this part of the story from the disbanded S.E.E.S. members once they saw what my best friend did. I can't remember what it was they told me 'they' did to save mankind, but I know that I will never forget that those two gave up EVERYTHING to save the world" Damion explained.

"Wow, sounds like a story I could put in the Bunbunmaru News and sell" Aya sneered.

"Do what you want, but I'm holding you responsible if anything happens to me because of that, Aya Shimeimaru" Damion threatened, also giving up.

At that moment, another visitor arrived on the scene.

"Ah, I was just coming to see if you were awake, Damion-san"

The necromancer knew who it was; Reisen Udongein Inaba.

Marisa and Aya turned to her.

"Doing deliveries again huh? I guess I should know this by now" Damion replied cheerfully.

"Are you friends with her, or doing naughty things with her, or are you two going out?" Marisa teased him.

For the fourth time this hour, Damion took out his evoker and aimed it at his head. Marisa countered by pulling out her mini-hakkero and aiming it at Damion.

"Fine, go kill each other for all I care!" Aya yelled at the witch and necromancer before flying off.

At unreasonable speeds, Aya flew back to Youkai Mountain.

"Damion-san, I have orders from Kaguya-sama to bring you to her" Reisen said to the necromancer.

"Oh, so the great former princess has secretly fallen in love with an ordinary guy?" Marisa teased him.

At this fourth tease, the necromancer lost his cool.

*BANG*

The Persona, Izanagi, emerged from inside Damion. It glared at the witch in contempt, as if giving a nonverbal threat.

Upon seeing the Persona, Marisa backed off slowly.

"Say, this wouldn't happen to be… an illusion… by Reisen… is it?" Marisa asked, showing some signs of fear.

Reisen shook her head 'no'.

"I'm not the one inducing lunacy in you this time, Marisa. That's his power you're seeing" Reisen informed the witch.

"_Cleave_"

The Persona, Izanagi, nodded to acknowledge Damion's order and went straight to work. Using its pole-arm weapon, it swung the weapon around it in a half-circle, cutting into the witch. The Persona attacked rather quickly, but restrained its power to avoid hurting a non-Persona user. The damage to Marisa was a tear in her clothing, and a small cut that wasn't too deep in her stomach area.

"Wow, that's some skilled magic, being able to summon a shikigami like that using a magical gun" Marisa replied, holding the spot that was attacked.

"It's not a shikigami, Marisa-san; it's a Persona. These things are different from shikigami in the sense that Personas are **your emotions, feelings, and beliefs given physical form**" Damion told her again.

"Wow, I better get outta here" Marisa said before hopping on her broom and flying away.

This left Damion alone with Reisen outside the human village.

"Tch, would've been an interesting battle" Damion cursed as his Persona returned to his body. However, upon returning to the host's body, Damion's face began to form a small cut on his cheek (Physical skills require health to cast instead of mana).

Reisen noticed the cut on his cheek and asked about it suddenly appearing.

"When did you get that cut?" Reisen asked.

Damion chuckled, and then explained the situation. He told her that Personas can use physical and magical skills. Physical skills required the user's health to be sacrificed instead of the user's mana. Other skills used mana.

"…so, yeah. I got this cut because I used a different type of skill" Damion summarized.

Reisen gave her argument of how magic should use mana, not health; she always believed that was the case for all magicians.

Damion explained to her that while that may be the case, casting magic using health instead of mana results in stronger spells, or mana-saving alternative to casting the same thing. He then explained that the 'magic' he cast was actually summoning his Persona to attack physically, and needed to use some of his health to temporarily turn into a physical entity that can attack its enemies with its weapon.

"Oh, that explains a lot, but please refrain from using those physical skills; I'm worried that it might harm you in other ways" Reisen told him her thoughts.

"It's magical damage, so a little healing with magic should fix this in no time" Damion shot back.

"Alright; just make sure to go see Kaguya-sama when you're ready. She gave us a hard time when we tried to explain what friendship is to her, and she was saying things like friends should serve one another and how friends that like each other should skip from being friends to married" Reisen informed him.

The necromancer, upon hearing this, shuddered.

"Wow, I guess I've got my work cut out for me today, explaining how friendship works to her isn't going to be easy" the young man sighed.

Reisen and Damion stood there chatting about their plans for the day, Reisen's was obviously selling Eirin's medicine, and Damion's was apparently going to Eientei to answer his summons.

Once the two of them finished their chat, the necromancer set off towards the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, while Reisen entered the village to do her own business.

* * *

><p>Along the way, he came across various monsters and youkai on the road to his destination. Also, during those encounters, he used his Persona for most of the time.<p>

"_Cleave_"

"_Zio_"

"_Zio_"

One by one, various unimportant youkai charged at the necromancer, mostly out of hunger for human meat. Some of the youkai that were resistant to or immune to electricity, and highly resistant to physical attacks, were dealt with Damion's fire spell. Fortunately, those that were resistant to or immune to electric and physical were weak to fire.

Once each battle against a group of youkai were defeated, Damion saw, as Igor told him, cards in his mind. Some of them were Persona cards, others were wand, coin, cup, and sword cards. He 'reached out' to the cards in his mind by mentally calling to them as if trying to get them by telekinesis. The first few selections he made were Persona cards, then he moved to wand cards after assembling what seemed like three new Persona cards.

This went on as the necromancer travelled the road toward the Bamboo Forest.

* * *

><p>Along the way to his destination, he came across Fujiwara No Mokou, who was headed for the human village. She then stopped to greet him, while he did the same.<p>

"You're up early" she commented.

"Yeah, mostly due to that kid, Suzaku, wanting me to get up early and play with him"

"Oh, Suzaku-kun? He's quite popular"

"So, were you headed to pick me up?" Damion asked, chuckling.

"Yeah, there are a lot of places I still haven't shown you…" Mokou began, but…

"About that… I've been asked to be Kaguya's tutor on friendship, sorry" Damion interrupted, looking down as though apologizing.

"Say what?"

"I'll never hear the end of it from Eirin-san, since she had a hard time explaining friendship to Kaguya-san, and Kaguya-san insisting that I explain it to her"

"I see; you must've fallen for her then" Mokou muttered, as though losing something important.

"No, I told her I'm not interested in THAT way, but she also asked about relationships that deepen to those levels" Damion informed her.

"So… this means you're not captivated by her beauty?" the response the necromancer gave returned the hope that Mokou thought she lost.

"Not quite. When I saw her the first time, yeah I was shocked by the princess's appearance, though I had to tell myself that I can't fall in love"

"Oh yeah, it's because of your lack of understanding of love that you don't want to fall in love" Mokou replied, remembering the young man's story.

Damion looked down, as if trying to say 'sorry' nonverbally.

"Let's get you there so you can create an opportunity for us, Damion"

Upon hearing that, the necromancer agreed to the idea and followed her to Eientei.

* * *

><p>Once there, the same antics as yesterday occurred, but with some changes; Tewi set up another trap for when Reisen returned, but it was the young man who fell into one of her traps this time.<p>

"Damn it, Tewi!" Mokou cursed as she went to help the necromancer out of a hole that Tewi dug up.

Once Damion was out of the hole, Mokou stormed off to find the Earth Rabbit to get even with her.

Damion, on the other hand, entered Eientei.

* * *

><p>"Pardon the intrusion" Damion called out quietly.<p>

Inside was Eirin, making and experimenting with various drugs to create antidotes for a variety of diseases. She heard the necromancer's calling out, and turned to greet him.

"Ah, there you are, Damion-san. You're rather early" Eirin said to him.

Damion recapped his morning to her thus far, which told her why he was early.

"Oh, that's convenient" Eirin commented

Damion, confused asked, "Why is that?"

"Oh, it means you'll have plenty of time to teach Kaguya-sama all about friendship in ways that she will understand. Perhaps, maybe, you might be able to teach her things about life as a couple" Eirin said with a light laugh, teasing the necromancer a little at the end.

Damion took out his evoker for the sixth time today, and aimed said device at his head.

"I told you to stop teasing me like that. I have NO plans on going that far with Kaguya-sama. Being in a relationship like that could mean the end of my friendship with Mokou-san; I owe Keine-san a debt, and I suspect she wanted me to repay that debt by being Mokou-san's friend" Damion threatened her.

Eirin stopped laughing, and then straightened up. "Alright, I'll go get Kaguya-sama; she's demanded to see you today"

Like yesterday, Eirin led the young man into the back of the mansion, in the living room. Once Damion was seated, he waited for Eirin to return with the former princess.

The pharmacist returned after a minute with the former princess behind her. Instead of the timidity Kaguya had yesterday, she was rather surprised about his arrival.

"You got here a lot faster than I expected; too early" Kaguya pointed out as if seeing his early arrival as a problem.

"Kaguya-sama, would you have rather I waited until, say, afternoon, or in the evening, or perhaps not coming at all?" Damion joked.

Kaguya took a seat on the couch opposite of the young man. She brushed aside the necromancer's witty comment, and acted like he didn't say a word.

"I called you here to learn more about this friendship thing you were talking about yesterday" Kaguya said, getting to the point.

Damion sighed, knowing that it might be difficult for him to teach her the basics of being a good friend, based on how she reacted to the questions about what her idea of friendship was.

"Alright, where did I leave off yesterday?" Damion asked.

Kaguya told him that he was about to tell her the story of mankind's desire given physical form reaching out to an entity that could grant that desire.

"Oh, that. I was about to tell you that I only heard vague bits about that story from my friends in that world. Here's what I do remember from them…"

Damion told her the vague details about what he remembered: after the end of the school year was over, there was an incident that trapped his friends in the dorm, and causing a strange robot-lookalike of one of his friends to attack his friends. Thankfully, his robotic friend was able to subdue the stranger, and it explained why it attacked. It came from a room that he knew was non-existent in the dorm; it was under the dining room table; trap door that led into what the stranger called the 'abyss of time'. There were many doors down there, and his friends went through each one, each one leading to a dead-end that had a link of sorts to each of his friends' memories. Eventually, after going through all the doors, and going through the one that had the strongest shadows, they eventually found what looked like a shadowy version of his best friend. His friends found out during the fight against it that it was everyone's regrets given physical form to look like him. After defeating it, the gang found what looked like a coliseum of sorts. That, unfortunately, was the part that he was left in the dark about. What he did hear next was what happened after the coliseum part; the confrontation with mankind's desire for death.

Kaguya had a hard time understanding the story.

"Geez, couldn't you have said the story in words I could understand?" Kaguya complained.

Damion became irritated. "I don't know any way to explain the same thing in simple words, sorry about that"

"Fine, so what happened after beating that abomination?"

"After that, I believe everyone went their separate ways, only keeping contact with one another through calls, text, email, and letters. I never learned the entire truth, so I'm only telling you what I was told by my friends"

"I see, it's quite sad when your friends try to keep secrets from you" Kaguya muttered.

"I know it is, but sometimes there are reasons for people to keep secrets. Most humans keep secrets to avoid trouble against themselves, like lying to keep the truth hidden, or to keep their unacceptable behaviors hidden from those close to them"

"So, would be bad if I kept secrets from you?"

"It would be, but it depends on the secret being kept"

"What kind of secrets would be bad to be kept?"

"Stuff like stealing, destroying, murdering, cheating on your wife or husband with another person, stuff like that"

"Oh, so if you were to, say, go out with Keine-san behind my back, would it be cheating on me?"

"Kaguya-sama, cheating on your boyfriend or girlfriend, lover, or husband or wife, means having an intimate relationship with another person while already being in an intimate relationship" the young man clarified for her.

"Oh, then what's the difference between being spending time with friends and cheating on the person close to you?"

Damion sighed, knowing this might be tricky to explain. "It's cheating on someone when you're level five relationship with someone, and then you spend time with another person working with the second person's relationship around level five too"

"Wait, so you're saying that if you were level five with me, and then you tried to be level five with Fujiwara No Mokou, would that be cheating?"

"That's about right… but I probably would never get that far in a relationship with her"

Kaguya frowned upon hearing this. "So you're friends with that freak?"

Damion, upon hearing the insult, grew upset. "Don't call her that! I'm only friends with her because Keine asked me to be there for her" he snapped.

"Wh-why are you even friends with her in the first place if Keine asked…"

"Kaguya-sama, Keine didn't ask me directly. She ushered me into Mokou-san's life, and practically told me to be there for her. That's all Keine-san told me, and I must honor her request" Damion interrupted.

"Geez, you're cheating on me if you're friends with her" Kaguya declared.

Damion, upon hearing this, sighed.

"Like I said, it's only cheating if I'm in an INTIMATE relationship with you, and going after Mokou-san to be intimate with her WHILE already in an intimate relationship with you" the necromancer clarified.

Kaguya crossed her arms and huffed. "Sh-shut up! I don't want you talking about her again!" the former princess demanded.

Damion, upon hearing this, gave up and sighed. "Very well, Kaguya-sama"

"Now then, you said yesterday that you owed Keine and Reisen a debt because of them helping you face your shadow?" Kaguya asked, changing the subject.

"I did; I make every effort possible to repay my debts, though I try to avoid having people be indebted to me. It's just that… I don't know when I'll be leaving, how long I'll be staying, where I'll usually be, or how well I know my way around" Damion answered.

"Why is it that you don't know when you'll be leaving?" she asked.

Damion sighed again. "I don't know the details myself, but I travel worlds, helping Deaths of various worlds as needed. Basically, I am a shikigami of sorts to Deaths of worlds, usually on standby until needed… remember my story of when I first came to be and left my home world? That was the beginning of when I first became a 'shikigami' of sorts"

"How does that explain why you don't know whether you leave or not?"

Damion knew he wasn't going to hide this fact forever. At the same time, he knows that he won't be able to make this fact plausible. "I came here from another world through methods of dimension rifts"

"Dimension rifts? Is it similar to Yukari Yakumo's gaps?"

"Her? I don't know the extent of her powers, so I can't say a thing about comparing her 'gaps' to dimension rifts" Damion answered, sullenly.

"Are you homesick?" Kaguya asked, changing the subject again.

"Kaguya-sama, please stick to one topic and please ask before changing the subject; it's rather rude and inconsiderate" Damion informed her.

"I asked a question! You will answer it" Kaguya snapped back.

"Kaguya-sama… no, I won't answer if you won't understand that being considerate of others is an important, if not mandatory part of maintaining friendship" Damion advised.

"Why should I worry about others when they are my servants?"

"Servants and friends are different matters, Kaguya-sama. Friends talk, listen, respect, and assist one another to an extent. Servants, well, you know"

"So, what's the big deal with treating friends the same as servants?"

Damion was starting to become irritated. "Friends need to be treated DIFFERENTLY than servants. If you treat your friends the same as servants, they're not going to be your friends for long, and may just leave and forget about you altogether. This result is usually bad, as it can affect others that may potentially be your friends, Kaguya-sama"

"How does one friend leaving you affect others that could be my friends?"

"Ever hear about people gossiping, talking about others, and rumors? That's how it affects things. If you treat all your friends as servants, those friends will leave to tell other people about you negatively, or in a bad way. This will spread to others, and people are going to think negatively about you. Potentially, this may lead to you becoming alone and rejected by society, earning you a reputation as the most selfish, inconsiderate, unfriendly person in Gensokyo" Damion answered bluntly.

Kaguya, upon hearing this, began to tear up.

"You're mean, calling me those things" she said through tears.

Damion, realizing that this was a misunderstanding, immediately tried to resolve it. At the same time, Eirin entered the room with a scowl on her face. Obviously, she had overheard the conversation thus far.

"I was telling you what others would think of you IF THAT WAS THE SITUATION! I did not call you those things!" Damion said to her.

This didn't help the situation. Things only got worse when Eirin grabbed the necromancer by the back of his collar and lifted him up.

"You DO realize that you're in trouble for making her cry, right?" the pharmacist threatened.

"In my defense, I was telling her the reality of what her thoughts would lead to"

"Oh, really? Then how do you explain her crying?"

"She's the one misunderstanding this part of the lesson! I told her what people would think of her, if she had friends, other than me, and how she would treat them!" Damion answered defensively.

It took a while before Eirin released the young man.

"What point were you trying to make to her?" Eirin asked.

Damion told her what he was trying to explain; the chain reaction of negative thoughts being passed from former friends of the princess will affect others that would potentially be the princess's future friends.

"Oh, was that all?" Eirin asked again.

"Yeah. What did you think I was saying to Kaguya-sama?"

"I thought you snapped and called her names to put her down"

Damion had the face that said 'I am not amused'. "Seriously? Do I LOOK the type to put others down?"

"Actually, you kind of do"

"That's not the point. The point is, I've been following the etiquette so far, and I'm working to explain life's lessons to Kaguya-sama. I haven't done anything wrong except tell her the truth of her actions"

"Really? Then perhaps the truth is too much for Kaguya-sama to handle right now" Eirin answered.

"She's going to have to face reality one day, and even I don't know when that will happen" Damion shot back.

Suddenly, Eirin leaned into Damion's ear and whispered, "_You don't mean when Kaguya-sama will face her shadow, do you?_"

Damion whispered back, "_I hope not, but if that happens, I'll be rushing to her assistance. That, you can rest easy knowing_"

Nodding, Eirin understood and sat down next to Kaguya. She began working to calm the former princess down and get her to stop crying.

"There, there. He was just telling you what might happen to others" Kaguya said to the crying princess softly.

The comfort Eirin was giving had little success in calming the former princess.

"*hic* you meanie, saying those things about *hic* my future" Kaguya tried to say to the necromancer through her crying.

"Just apologize and talk about something else, Damion-san" Eirin urged him.

Damion, giving up, went along with Eirin's plan. Upon hearing this, Kaguya calmed down enough to wipe her tears away and stop crying altogether.

"Fine, what else is there that I should talk about?" Damion asked them. "_It seems I won't be able to help her understand this until she matures mentally, and realizes that life isn't all about her_" he thought to himself.

Upon hearing the coerced offer, Kaguya asked the necromancer about his necromancy.

"I'm curious as to how that ability of yours, necromancy, works" Kaguya asked him.

Upon hearing this, the young man sighed. "Necromancy involves animating the dead to do your bidding. It's like a puppeteer controlling dolls, but necromancy involves the physically dead instead of dolls"

"Is it like Alice Margatroid's ability?"

Eirin knew that Damion was about to ask who she was. "Alice-san is a puppeteer from the human world, and a human-turned-youkai due to enhanced and well-trained dexterity and stamina. She's relatively social, but she usually is arguing with Marisa-san over the latter stealing some of Alice's dolls or books" she explained.

"Oh, thanks for the info, Eirin-san" Damion thanked her for the explanation, even before he was about to ask that very question of who Alice was. He then turned to Kaguya to explain, "Necromancy is similar to being a puppeteer, except it uses magic instead of strings. Animating the dead, however, is NOT THE SAME as bringing the dead back to life"

"Really? How does one become a necromancer?" Kaguya asked.

Damion went silent for a moment. "I believe you have to embrace darkness, death, and trade your soul to Death in order to obtain the power to control the dead. One needs to be a top-notch sorcerer to even be considered a necromancer by Death's standards. I, however, became a necromancer through another way… and that was through the gift my former creator gave me"

Eirin was quick to understand.

"So you cheated to become a necromancer?" Kaguya asked him, understanding the first part of his explanation.

"Not quite… I earned that power, though at the cost of being bound by loyalty to Death" Damion answered.

"Show me how necromancy works then" Kaguya demanded.

This demand caught the necromancer off guard.

"Whoah, hold on there. I need dead bodies in order to even use necromancy. There's a reason why it's called 'necromancy', as in 'necro' meaning dead, and 'mancy' as in control. This IS NOT THE SAME as controlling death; it's only controlling the physically dead to do one's bidding" Damion answered, pointing out some important flaws.

"Ph, then how am I supposed to know what necromancy is if you won't demonstrate it?" Kaguya asked him.

Eirin then explained to her, "It's the same way as me not being able to create medicine if I don't have the materials to make it. If we don't have the right materials, we won't be able to do our work"

Kaguya seemed to understand the explanation Eirin gave.

"Well then, let's go find some dead bodies then" Kaguya ordered.

This caught Eirin and the young man off-guard.

"A-a-a-are you serious, Kaguya-sama?" Eirin asked the former princess as though she had gone insane.

"Of course. I heard a graveyard popped up out of nowhere recently, and there's a Jiang Shi there that is rumored to be the leader of the dead" Kaguya stated.

Eirin and Damion were suspicious of this.

"Kaguya-sama, where did you hear this rumor?" Eirin asked her.

"From the internet" was Kaguya's answer.

"Internet? As in computer connected to the internet? I believe that's only found in the human world, Kaguya-sama" Damion clarified.

"Actually, she has a computer in her room, but how she gets this 'internet' is a mystery to me, though I suspect it has something to do with Yukari-san's gap abilities" Eirin commented.

"Alright, suppose I believe you got your information from the internet, what website did you go to?"

"Some website relating to Gensokyo. It's mostly updates on the latest trends, how humans play a game using characters similar to us, shooting other characters similar to us, and the such" Kaguya described.

Damion, not believing it, knew that, somehow, she just broke a certain rule about information that should and shouldn't be available to people in stories. "_Great, she's got a sense of awareness of being a character in the game that she just described_" he thought to himself in disbelief.

"So, how reliable is this source?" Damion asked her.

"Quite reliable; it kept us at Eientei up-to-date on the incidents that happened as they occurred" Kaguya answered.

"Alright. Did it say anything about where this graveyard is?"

"Not really, but I know that the users on the site are looking into it"

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, behind Damion was a gap that just opened. Though the necromancer wasn't aware of it at first, he did notice Kaguya and Eirin's faces that said otherwise.<p>

Kaguya and Eirin, upon seeing the gap opening behind Damion, pointed behind the necromancer.

"What? What's wrong?" Damion asked them. He then followed their pointing to the gap behind him.

Once he saw what they were pointing at (the gap), he had a feeling it was going to be trouble. Sure enough, Yukari Yakumo appeared from inside the gap, but leaving half of herself inside the gap.

Damion, fearing the worst, took out his evoker and pointed it at his head.

Fortunately, before things could happen, Ran came half-out of the gap next to Yukari.

"Yukari-sama, please don't be so rude to them" the kitsune youkai said to her master before turning to the necromancer, former princess, and pharmacist.

"What do you want now, Yukari-san?" Eirin asked the gap youkai rather rudely.

"I'm not here for you; I'm here for him" Yukari replied as though indirectly saying 'you are not worth my time'.

Damion was now confused, but he kept the evoker pointed to his head in preparation for the worst.

"He's busy with ME, Yukari" Kaguya told Yukari rather sternly.

"Yukari-sama, please let me do the talking. We don't want to be fighting, do we?" Ran asked, trying to properly avoid an argument.

Yukari, giving into her shikigami's idea, backed off and let Ran explain why they're here.

"I'm sorry we intruded like this, but it's rather urgent that we have Damion's assistance in this matter; there are two Chens, and one is giving the other a hard time, spouting nonsense that we believe Chen would never say. The Chen spouting nonsense seems literally darker than the other and it's giving Yukari-sama a run for her money with arguments…"

"That's what I was afraid of… You're facing Shadow Chen!" Damion interrupted, knowing exactly what's going on.

"'Shadow Chen'?" Yukari asked him. Her expression changed from condescending to that of confusion.

Damion turned to the former princess and apologized, "Sorry, but this is urgent. I'll try to be back as soon as I can to continue this lecture"

"How do we deal with her?" Ran asked the necromancer.

"Bring in people that match these conditions: Strong will, strong sense of beliefs, and strong heart. Only those with those three conditions are able to stand a chance against shadows. I need only two or three fighters as support" Damion said to the shikigami.

"Why people with those three conditions?" Ran asked him.

"I'll explain everything to you after we deal with 'Shadow Chen'" Damion replied.

Agreeing on the plan, Damion got up and jumped towards the gap, following Yukari and Ran.

* * *

><p>Inside the gap was what was best described as a void of emptiness. It was not exactly empty, as there was Chen and her shadow self.<p>

Chen was a nekomata youkai, with a red minidress and a forked tail. On her head was a green beret-like hat.

"…no, you're wrong! I wouldn't think about Ran-sama like that, or even Yukari-sama!" Chen screamed to her shadow self.

'Shadow Chen' was literally a carbon copy of Chen. The differences were darker skin tone, shadowy aura filled with maliciousness, eerie yellow eyes, and a smug look that was condescending.

"**Shut up, you know you're not as competent as Ran, and you can't even live up to the expectations of Yukari. How long do you think you can delude yourself into thinking that you're actually useful to them!**" Shadow Chen shot back to her original.

Chen, denying the accusations, screamed back. "NO! They need me just as much as I need them!"

'Shadow Chen' simply laughed as if being told a wild fantasy.

"**Just admit it! Ran only sees you as a child that needs attention whenever you get bored, and Yukari doesn't care about whether you exist or not!**" 'Shadow Chen' shot back to her original.

Chen now covered her ears in disbelief.

"**Covering your ears and eyes won't make the truth go away; YOU'RE JUST AN INCOMPETENT CHILD THAT CANNOT KEEP UP WITH YOUR MASTERS**" 'Shadow Chen' yelled to her original.

"No… this is not true! Just… stop it!" Chen begged, unable to bear the truth from her 'shadow' self.

"**What's the matter… one of your friends got your tongue? Just admit that I'm you, and I'll stop this madness!**" 'Shadow Chen' said to her original.

"No… no… NOOOO!" Chen screamed.

At this point, two people were gapped into this 'void'.

The first was Reimu Hakurei, and the other was Ran.

Reimu, upon seeing Damion, walked up to him to start a conversation.

"I haven't heard from you in a while, so I thought you must've gotten killed…" Reimu began, but…

"Let's catch up later. We need to deal with 'Shadow' Chen first. Knowing what happened to me, she'll most likely deny the existence of…" Damion interrupted, but…

"Wait, 'Shadow' Chen?" Reimu interrupted.

"I'll explain later" Damion interrupted.

Nodding, Reimu made Damion swear to explain things to her after dealing with the problem at the hand.

The three of them turned to assess the situation between the two Chens.

"**Like I said… me… Just admit that I'm right, and I'm you, and I'll stop**" 'Shadow Chen' said to her original.

Chen was still in a state of denial.

"Damion-san, what do we do?" Ran asked.

"She's in a state of denial. Show her that she's not alone" Damion ordered.

Nodding the three of them raced towards Chen.

"**Oh, look! Two humans and… well, Ran**" 'Shadow Chen' said in contempt as she saw the three of them get close to the nekomata.

"Go away, I'm not as useful as you think!" Chen cried to Ran.

"Chen…chan, is it? You're not alone, and you're not the only one who makes mistakes" Damion said to the mentally unstable Chen.

"Huh? Who are you?" Chen asked, noticing the young man.

"He's… a friend of mine and Yukari-sama's" Ran said to her familiar.

"So what if you're not useful with chores? There are other ways you can help, Chen-chan" Damion comforted her.

"That's right, you and I sometimes do danmaku battles when we meet. Those are helping me stay in peak condition, Chen" Reimu added her thoughts.

Chen was still in a state of denial, but cheered up slightly.

"R-really?" She asked them.

"Yeah. You're able to help us in different ways. Even if you aren't suited for…" Ran began, but…

"**What's the point of comfort when the obvious still remains: I'm not cut out to be Ran's shikigami, nor can I live up to expectations when given even simple chores!**" 'Shadow Chen' said while doing a damn good impersonation of Chen's hidden, emotional, and real thoughts given a real personality.

"Sh-she's r-right… I'm not c-cut out to be y-your sh-shikigami" Chen admitted sullenly.

Now, Reimu was upset.

"Who do you think you are, impersonating Chen and spouting nonsense!" Reimu yelled to 'Shadow Chen'.

"**Heheh, the shrine maiden wants to know who I am. The truth is… I AM CHEN!**" 'Shadow Chen' declared.

"Reimu, she's actually correct in a sense" Damion added.

"Whose side are you on, Damion?" Reimu complained.

"Chen's side of course; the one Ran is supporting right now" Damion shot back, pointing to Yukari's shikigami and her shikigami's shikigami.

Chen was crying in Ran's arms, while Ran was doing her best to show comfort.

"Reimu, if you provoke it any further, then I'm afraid it'll go berserk and transform into a REAL 'monster'" Damion warned her.

Reimu turned to the necromancer.

"Then what is it that we do in this case?" she asked him, as though desperate.

Damion sighed.

"This is something that Chen herself as to do; She needs to either accept that 'Shadow Chen' is really her rejected thoughts, hidden desires, and suppressed emotions given physical form" Damion told her.

Ran was listening to this as well.

"Her… suppressed emotions?" Ran asked.

The young man nodded. "Yes. After this, give Chen at least a week to recover from this incident, as she needs to be mentally stable before you even talk to her about it" the necromancer advised the shikigami.

"Right" was Ran's answer.

"**Pathetic, even if you give her comfort now, she'll come looking at me and realize that she's actually not wanted, that she's really a nuisance to her master and her master's master, that she's really just a big FAILURE!**" 'Shadow Chen' reminded her original.

Chen, upon hearing this, suddenly stood up. Her face practically said 'I had enough' in a way that implied that she was at her limit.

"THAT'S WHERE YOU ARE WRONG! I AM NEEDED BY RAN-SAMA, AND YUKARI-SAMA! DON'T YOU DARE SAY YOU'RE ME WHEN YOU HAVE MY FACTS ALL WRONG! YOU CANNOT BE ME, YOU FAKE ME!" Chen yelled at the top of her lungs to her 'shadow' self.

"Reimu, Ran, get ready to fight" Damion told them.

Reimu and Ran nodded, and readied themselves.

'Shadow Chen' suddenly started laughing.

"**You've done it now, Chen. You will die… right here, right now!**" 'Shadow Chen' threatened.

'Shadow Chen' began gathering the darkness from the void and used it to become her source of power. Harnessing the power of darkness, 'Shadow Chen' took on a different form.

'Shadow Chen' grew to about the size of a bus, and took on what seemed like a demonic lion in appearance. The face was demonic red, whiskers thick enough to look like rope. Its forked tail split and split until it ended up with seven tails. It's body was decorated with what seemed like magic runes, including the legs and face had runes typically associated with Satanism, necromancy, and dark magic.

Once the transformation was done, Chen fell unconscious as if life energy being sapped from her through magic that can't be seen.

"Chen!" Ran screamed, running to the unconscious nekomata youkai.

"She'll be alright; she's just unconscious, and will wake up when we take out her shadow" Damion said to the shikigami.

Ran simply nodded and returned to the necromancer's side.

"Damn it, we're going to have to deal with this thing before we can show Chen that she's not as helpless as she thinks she is" Damion said to his teammates.

"Alright" Ran replied.

Reimu answered the same as Ran, readying herself for battle.

* * *

><p>## Battle against Shadow Chen ##<p>

"**I am a Shadow… the TRUE self… What do you think you're doing, protecting someone who can't take care of the chores correctly, or even make my master a proper snack?**" 'Shadow Chen' asked the three fighters.

"Chen-chan… I… didn't know you were upset over this…" Ran replied hesitantly.

"She may not be suited for serving her master, but that doesn't mean she's completely useless!" Damion shouted to 'Shadow Chen'.

"**That may be true, but it's still Chen who has to make the decision to accept the facts or not!**" 'Shadow Chen' countered.

Damion ended the conversation, and began his turn. He cast 'Scan' on 'Shadow Chen'. Various information became clear to him about his opponent:

She was originally a housecat that became orphaned after her owner died of a heart attack. Feeling regret, she suppressed her sadness and took on a child-like personality to counter the sadness, to little success. When she grew old, and became a nekomata, she completely forgot about her past. That's also to say that she kept her child-like personality. Despite this, she became skilled in magic, especially of the attacking type. Through the years, she wandered around, despising humans for what she perceived as abandoning her. Her life was rough the first couple years after becoming a nekomata, resorting to thievery to get the bare necessities to survive. Then, one day, Ran appeared in her life, taking her in and giving her the need of being accepted and wanted. Though it wasn't the same as her life with her deceased owner, it was enough to fill in Chen's desire for affection. After being taken in, Ran offered Chen the opportunity to be her shikigami. Not knowing what a shikigami is, Chen accepted, and was bound to servitude to Ran. To this day, Chen tries her hardest to live up to the expectations of Ran to repay her from her life of solitude, neglect, and survival.

Combat-wise, 'Shadow Chen' was weak to ice and electricity, immune to DEATH spell, immune to light and dark instant death skills from Personas, and was relatively strong.

"What did you learn about 'Shadow Chen'?" Reimu asked Damion.

"For one, her past. Second, she's weak to ice and electricity. Lastly, there's a tactic used back in the world of Persona; all-out attack" Damion reported.

"All-out attack?" Ran and Reimu asked together.

"It's when the enemy falls from being hit with a critical hit OR from its weakness. Once it falls, we all attack at once for a while" Damion explained.

"Whatever, let's get it!" Reimu answered cockily.

Reimu took her turn to attack 'Shadow Chen'. Running up to the demonic lion-like shadow, she gave it a smack with her weapon on the face. 'Shadow Chen' barely felt damage from the attack, but still took some damage nonetheless (100% reduced to 96% health for Shadow Chen)

Next up was Ran, and she took her turn to cast an electric spell on the shadow. Sending a wave of magical electricity through the void, she sent it at her opponent (96% reduced to 91% health for Shadow Chen). 'Shadow Chen' was paralyzed from the attack, but the spell wasn't as effective as it should've been ('Shadow Chen', despite being weak to electricity and ice, isn't knocked down from regular magic spells; only Persona skills that are ice, electric, or critical hits).

"**Tch, is that the BEST you can do? Despite my efforts to make Ran and Yukari proud, I haven't made failures THIS badly**" 'Shadow Chen' taunted.

"Chen-chan…" Ran muttered.

"Focus on the fight, she's trying to distract you" Damion reminded the shikigami.

Ran looked at the necromancer, and then nodded. She realized that he was trying to say that she and Chen can make up once the real Chen awakens after the battle.

'Shadow Chen' took her turn to cast a 'Garula' on Damion. Sadly, he was weak to wind element due to his Persona's weakness to wind. A sudden gust of wind enveloped the necromancer, picking him up in the process, and dropping him on the ground. In addition to the damage, he was knocked down (100% reduced to 87% health for Damion)

*1 More*

'Shadow Chen' used her turn this time to cast a 'Power Charge' skill on herself. Infusing herself with magic, she became temporarily stronger physically in terms of offensive power, not her defense.

It was the necromancer's turn, and he recovered from being knocked down. "Damn it, she's preparing for a strong physical attack!" he warned Ran and Reimu. The two girls on his side nodded in acknowledgement. Damion, using his turn, made his head flash once (Changing Personas). Armed with the new Persona, he set the Evoker to his head and pulled the trigger. Out came what literally looked like a slime monster.

"_Tarunda_"

The Persona went to work and sent a pulse of debilitating energy at the opponent. The debilitation only weakened offensive power.

Reimu and Ran set up their guards on their trust in the necromancer.

'Shadow Chen' used a skill on the group, 'Deathbound'. The opponent slammed one of its front claws onto the ground, and let the attack do its work; an evil black wave of darkness ravaged the three fighters, almost as if it was a sandstorm tearing the skin off the travelers.

(100% reduced to 70% health for Reimu)

(100% reduced to 75% health for Ran)

(87% reduced to 70% reduced for Damion… his Persona was resistant to physical attacks, ON TOP OF a 'Resist Physical' passive skill).

"Wow, that was intense" Reimu commented.

"Be glad I reduced its offensive power, or it would've been worse" Damion replied.

"How bad could it have been?" Ran asked.

"She could've used Debilitate on all three of us, then Heat Riser on herself, Power Charge, THEN that attack… Debilitate reduces our offensive, defensive, and agility. Heat Riser does the opposite, except to the user. The buff and debuff affect our stats by one and a half times the stats. Power Charge doubles the next PHYSICAL attack going to be used by the user" Damion explained.

"Um, can you explain it a little easier?"

"It means that it could've potentially wiped us out in a single hit if the circumstances were real" Damion informed them.

Realizing this, Reimu and Ran were startled by the statistics.

"Wow, No wonder you didn't attack that thing" Ran admitted.

"I'll explain later, but let's get back to dealing with 'Shadow Chen'" Damion advised.

The necromancer took his turn, and changed Personas… causing his head to flash once. Pointing the evoker to his head, he summoned it. Surprisingly, it was Izanagi again.

"_Zio_"

Nodding, the Persona shot a bolt of lightning from its body upwards. Though there was no sky in this void, the lightning made its way around and dropped onto the opponent. 'Shadow Chen' was weak to this element, and was knocked down (91% reduced to 87% health for 'Shadow Chen').

"Is this the moment you've talked about?" Ran asked, noticing the shadow being knocked down.

"Oh yeah, let's go!" Damion ordered.

The three fighters ran up to the opponent, wailing on her and beating her senseless. Ran using her claws, Reimu stomping on the downed opponent, and Damion adding into the stomping too. Eventually, the team stopped attacking (87% reduced to 75% health for 'Shadow Chen').

Now it was Reimu's turn. She attacked by throwing her trusty yin-yang orbs at the shadow opponent. Upon contact with the shadow, the yin-yang orbs exploded, damaging the 'shadow'. The damage to the shadow was moderate, but still hurt her (75% reduced to 71% health for 'Shadow Chen').

Up next was Ran. Like before, she mustered the magic energy inside her into channeling electric magic through her and onto her opponent. Sending a bolt of electricity through the void, the magic coursed through 'Shadow Chen' and did a fair number on her (71% reduced to 66% health for 'Shadow Chen').

"**I did my best to pay Ran back for her help, and the thanks I get is being ignored, treated like a hopeless child, and 'trapped' by Ran's master**" 'Shadow Chen' said to her opponents.

"Chen-chan…" Ran muttered under her breath as though feeling guilty.

"Don't worry, Chen. We'll help you out, just hang tight" Reimu muttered to the unconscious nekomata youkai.

"**Now then, why is Master helping one of those damned humans?**" 'Shadow Chen' suddenly asked, pointing at the necromancer.

"It's because I'm out to help Chen-chan that I'm even here in the first place!" the young man yelled back to the shadow.

"Damion-san, she's…" Ran began.

"I know her back story; the 'Scan' spell told me" Damion shot back.

Nodding, Ran let it go at that.

"Alright, if you know, then I don't need to explain why she hates humans" Ran replied.

'Shadow Chen' took her turn. The demonic lion shadow readied itself to pounce, and then lunged at Ran. Upon being pounced, the shadow lion began scratching and biting into the kitsune shikigami. Fortunately, the damage to Ran was not fatal, though some of her clothing was damaged (Not damaged enough to render clothes completely useless though. 75% reduced to 62% health for Ran).

Damion took out his evoker again, shot his head, thus summoning his Persona once again. Izanagi emerged from inside the necromancer and awaited its command.

"_Zio_"

The persona nodded, and began to do its job; converting the magic energy inside it into electricity, it shot the gathered electricity into the void around it (Since there's no sky). The electricity travelled around until it 'jumped' at 'Shadow Chen'. The opponent was weak to the attack, though it didn't suffer as much damage as it would've if it had been either Zionga or Ziodyne. Regardless, the enemy was knocked down, and Damion's team were ready to attack (66% reduced to 63% health for Shadow Chen).

"All-out attack?" Reimu suggested.

Damion nodded, and gave the order.

Ran, Reimu, and the young man, once again rushed the downed enemy until they decided to relent (63% reduced to 50% health for Shadow Chen).

Next up was Reimu, and she cast a support spell on the team; cure-all. This caused the team to be bathed in a glow of green light. Said light was healing the team for a small, but manageable amount of damage.

(70% increased to 80% health for Reimu)

(62% increased to 72% health for Ran)

(70% increased to 80% health for Damion)

Now was Ran's turn. She charged the magic inside her to electricity, and fired the charge at 'Shadow Chen'. The enemy was hit by the electricity, and took a fair bit of damage from the attack (50% reduced to 45% health for Shadow Chen).

"**Ran-sama, why are you teaming up with that damn human? It's their fault that they die so fast!**" 'Shadow Chen' whined.

"If we humans were able to extend our lifespan longer than 100 years, then we might be able to live with youkai a lot longer than we usually do" Damion shouted.

"He's right about that, Chen-chan. Though, even if that did happen, most youkai would gladly eat those humans despite their friendship" Ran answered back to the 'Shadow'.

"**Tch, they die so quickly, get eaten so fast, and the nice ones are extremely rare. How do I know this damn human isn't like the other humans!**" Shadow Chen asked in a demanding tone.

"Chen-chan, he wouldn't be trying to help you if he wasn't one of the nice ones" Reimu countered.

"If I was as heartless as you think I am, I wouldn't have asked for help from Ran-san or Reimu in your time of need. I asked Yukari to get them during their busy schedules; begged her to bring them here to show you that your ignorance is the key to your sorrow!" Damion shouted back.

"**Ignorance! You're the ignorant one that doesn't know the sorrow I went through!**" Shadow Chen argued.

Damion sighed. "Look, I've lost more than you have prior to coming to Gensokyo; a loved one, several best friends, my former master, and my home world. You have the guts to say I'm the one who doesn't know what it's like to lose someone? You lost your owner, home, and life as a housecat that has the easy life while your previous owner had to spend his life working to support himself AND you. Be thankful for the fact that you have someone taking care of you, be thankful for the fact that you aren't worrying about where your next meal comes from, and DON'T EVER THINK THAT HUMANS HAVE IT EASY EITHER!" the young man yelled to the shadow.

Upon hearing the bits and references to her former owner, Shadow Chen relented out of surprise.

"**Wh-who told you!**" the shadow asked, dumbfounded.

"I…" Damion began.

"I told him, Chen-chan" Ran interrupted.

Upon hearing this, Damion looked to the kitsune shikigami in surprise.

"Wait, what are you…" the young man asked her, but was interrupted.

"_Just trust me on this, Damion-san_" Ran whispered to the necromancer.

Nodding, he let it go and went with the white lie.

"**Why, Ran? Why did you tell him?**" Shadow Chen asked her.

"It's because he asked me about you before coming here to help you!" Ran answered, continuing the white lie.

"**Very well**"

The magical demonic looking lion shadow took its turn to, once again, cast Power Charge on itself. The skill temporarily gave 'Shadow Chen' a boost in physical strength for the next time it would use a physical attack.

Now it was the necromancer's turn. Like before, he brought his evoker to his head and pulled the trigger. He didn't change Personas, so it meant that he still had the same one from before: Izanagi.

"_Zio_"

Like the several times it has been summoned, the Persona nodded and began its work. As with all the times it has been using the Zio skill, it gathered the electric magic inside it and fired the magic skill into the void to make its way to 'Shadow Chen' (45% reduced to 42% health for 'Shadow Chen').

'Shadow Chen' was knocked down from the Persona's attack. Reimu and Ran saw this as an opportunity for another all-out attack. Damion, of course, had no objections and gave the order for another all-out attack (42% reduced to 28% health for 'Shadow Chen').

Now was Reimu's turn. She threw another one of her trusty yin-yang orbs at the shadow, which exploded upon impact with the opponent (28% reduced to 23% health for 'Shadow Chen').

Ran took her turn to charge up another electric spell. Like before, she fired the electric magic at the demonic lion-like shadow (23% reduced to 18% health for Shadow Chen).

By now, 'Shadow Chen' was showing signs of fatigue and weakness. She was exhausted from the damage she took. Rather, it was her berserk shadow form, the demonic rune-covered lion form, that was weakened.

The shadow opponent was silent this turn, and turned to look at the necromancer. It's debuff from Tarunda wore off, so it's offensive power was back to normal. 'Shadow Chen' pounced onto Damion, ramming into him with heavy force (80% reduced to 27.5% health for Damion).

Upon being damaged, Damion was knocked back but not knocked down. He did suffer a little over half his health in damage from the attack.

"Damion-san!" Reimu screamed.

"Forget about me, the enemy is almost finished, and I say we end it now!" the necromancer commanded.

Ran was the first to notice what he meant. "Right!" she replied.

"_Zio_"

Izanagi nodded upon being given the command and went to work attacking. It shot a weak thunderbolt into the void around it, and said thunderbolt struck the shadow enemy's body. This caused 'Shadow Chen' to be knocked down for the last time (18% reduced to 15% health for Shadow Chen).

"Alright guys, this should end the battle once and for all. LET'S GET HER!" Damion ordered as he, Reimu, and Ran rushed in for the final all-out attack this battle.

Once the team relented, 'Shadow Chen' in demonic rune-covered lion form exploded in a blast of shadows and darkness. In addition, 'Shadow Chen' reverted back to her carbon copy appearance of the original Chen.

## END BATTLE AGAINST 'SHADOW CHEN' ##

* * *

><p>At the same time, the original Chen awoke from unconsciousness. Ran quickly raced to the disoriented nekomata. She hugged Chen hard, crying all the while.<p>

"I'm so sorry, Chen… I had no idea you were suffering those thoughts of being unwanted" Ran cried her heart out, apologizing to her shikigami.

Chen, confused, asked how she knew. "How did you know, Ran-sama?"

"It's because of your shadow, Chen-chan" Damion answered for her.

Chen turned to see the necromancer. Upon seeing him, she became cautious in a threatening way.

When he saw her threatening cautiousness, he sighed. "Look, I'm sorry you went through a lot, losing your owner, living on the streets, stealing just to survive, being all alone and all. You've been through enough already, and I know…"

"H-h-how did you know…?" Chen asked him, surprised.

"I learned your story from your shadow. We've both lost people important to us, and I know what it's like to be alone… You're not the only one, Chen-chan" Damion replied, recalling his own story.

Chen and Damion were similar… they lost people precious to them, had to fight for survival (Although through different means), and both were taken in by someone and made to be a servant of sorts to a higher being.

"He means that… he's a lot like you" Reimu added.

"How?" Chen asked. Her hostility towards the young man wavered, and became curiosity.

Damion answered, "I'll tell you my story, but just know that you aren't alone, and you haven't asked the right people the right questions on how to help out"

Chen took some time to process what Ran, Reimu, and the necromancer were telling her.

"B-but… that imposter…"

"That was actually your shadow… your emotions, hidden thoughts, desires, worries, dark secrets, all given physical form" Damion explained to her.

"My… emotions and desires…?"

"Yes, my 'shadow' came to me a few days ago, and it was… horrifying"

"Horrifying… how?"

"It's that… your suppressed or rejected thoughts and emotions… they're like a child that is desperate to call out to you… they want to be accepted by you… they wanted to… make you realize that… you're running away from your problems… those emotions and secrets… they're telling you that you need to face your problems eventually" Damion lectured her, stressing the important points to her.

"I needed to… face my problems…?"

"What problems were you facing… Chen-chan?" Ran asked her shikigami. She was still crying.

"I… didn't know… what I was… doing wrong… to be ignored… by Ran-sama and Yukari-sama…" Chen admitted. She, too, was beginning to cry.

Chen explained what was troubling her. Apparently, she felt she was so useless that she was treated as though she didn't exist. She was also afraid… of being rejected by talking to Ran, afraid of being unfairly attacked by Reimu, and she was lost in what to do. She was like a child that wanted something, but was afraid of changing her life again. She was also feeling lonely, depressed, and inferior to her master, Ran.

"So that's the problem…" Damion muttered.

"What, what do you mean?" Reimu asked him.

The young man knelt down next to Chen and Ran, and he, too, gave the nekomata a hug.

This caught Chen off-guard completely.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing, you damn… I mean… what are you doing, human?" Chen asked, flustered.

"You're like me in a lot of ways. Even though I went through similar situations, I find that taking a chance to ask someone for help, really helps someone who is lost and confused, Chen-chan" he whispered into her ear.

"Huh… asking for help… and taking a chance?"

"If you feel like you lost everything, then why not do something like asking someone when there's nothing else to lose?" he said to her calmly.

"But-but… I'm afraid…"

"It's alright. I'm going to tell you something you can do to prove to Ran and Yukari that you aren't as weak as you think you are, Chen-chan"

Chen perked up from hearing this.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Confront your shadow, tell it with full confidence and all honesty that you CAN change, and that you CAN be useful in other ways… you need to do all this with a strong heart, strong beliefs, and a strong will. Can you take the first step and tell your 'shadow' that you aren't helpless, weak or otherwise useless?" Damion asked her as if trying to make her feel better.

Chen, upon hearing this, was uncertain as to how to go about it.

"Ran-sama…?"

"It's okay. Your 'shadow' might push you down, tell you that you aren't good, and that you are useless. However, YOU need to tell it that you are strong, that you can make changes that are good, and that you weren't thinking about other ways that you might be useful" Ran added.

"Ran-sama…" Chen asked again.

"Chen-chan. I know you can do this. Be strong, for Ran-san and Yukari-san" Reimu encouraged.

At this point, Chen nodded and got up. Ran and Damion let go of the nekomata to let her confront her shadow.

* * *

><p>Chen walked up to her 'shadow' and glared at it.<p>

"You… you're right. I was running away from the thought of rejection, being scolded for being useless or not helpful, or being a nuisance to Ran-sama" Chen admitted to her 'shadow'.

"**Then… are you…?**"

"Yes, I was running away from my problems, fearing my lack of strength to help me express my thoughts to Ran-sama and Yukari-sama. I was running away from them, fearing their rejection, afraid to seek help from someone, feeling alone like I was before Ran-sama took me in with her and Yukari-sama"

"**You still are, you're really alone, and that human is lying to you!**" 'Shadow Chen' countered.

"No, he's not. He's not like the other humans that I stole from and killed to ensure my survival. He's like me, though different" Chen argued, not budging from the sudden verbal attack by her 'shadow' self.

"**He's lied to Ran, and to Yukari… He's helping you so that they will be friends with you for a few days, and then return to being ignored again!**"

"No! He's not like those humans that lied and takes advantage of others; I can feel his pure intentions and kindness. YOU ARE THE ONE THAT NEEDS TO REALIZE THAT TIMES HAVE CHANGED!" Chen yelled to her 'shadow' self.

This caught the 'shadow' off guard.

"There's more… I know that I can make a change in the future, though I have to start small. I can make Ran-sama and Yukari-sama understand what troubles me when I can't handle those problems alone. I will also try to… understand humans… and perhaps… be friends with them" Chen said to her 'shadow' with a strong, firm sense of her beliefs and hopes.

'Shadow Chen' was now trembling at the change in Chen.

"Most importantly, I realize that… you are me" Chen added suddenly.

Surprised and in shock, 'Shadow Chen' looked at her original with hope.

"**You… are you serious?**" 'Shadow Chen' asked in disbelief, also with hope that it's true.

"Yes, I'm serious. I was an idiot for not realizing that you were… my emotions and fears… trying to reach out to me… I'm sorry" Chen apologized, admitting the truth.

'Shadow Chen' looked at the original for a moment, taking in all that Chen said, how she said it, and then nodded.

"**Very good. You have finally come to terms with your emotions… Now then, I will be your power to call upon in times of need**" 'Shadow Chen' said to her original.

Then, the shadow self changed shape to that of what looked like a slender woman in a black bodysuit with cat-like features; a forked tail, cat ears, and whiskers.

"Nekomata, the Persona" Damion muttered as he saw 'Shadow Chen' take on its Persona form.

Then, Chen's Persona disappeared into a card. Said card fell from where it was and floated towards Chen until it literally went into Chen's head, being absorbed by her mind.

Chen, upon acquiring her Persona's power, collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"Chen-chan!" Ran screamed as she rushed to catch the collapsing shikigami of hers. Fortunately, she caught Chen before the nekomata shikigami fell to the ground.

"Geez, is it over?" Reimu asked the young man.

"Yes… for now" Damion answered.

Gaps opened underneath everyone, and the team was taken straight to Yukari's house.

* * *

><p>Sitting down, Damion asked everyone to do so (Ran, Reimu, and Yukari… Chen was unconscious though).<p>

"Alright, it's time for me to explain everything about what happened to Chen that caused her 'shadow' to appear" the necromancer said to the three girls.

He told them everything about the 'shadows' that he and his friends fought. Everything that ranged from what made up shadows, to what shadows do, and how they're connected with Personas. He then explained that he, too, feels that he and Chen share similar stories of their hardest times. Reimu was the one that asked the most questions, as she was having a hard time following along. Damion did his best to explain everything in ways that she could understand, using analogies to help her get an idea of what to think of.

"So that's what happened" Yukari muttered.

"Ran-san, Yukari-san… take it easy on Chen-chan. Give her simple tasks that you know she can handle, and make sure to make her feel like she isn't alone… She needs to recover from this experience psychologically"

"Psychologically?" the girls asked.

"Psychology is the study of how the mind and body works. Her mental stability is weak from having to face reality and her emotions. Even if she wakes up and acts like nothing has happened… if you talk about her experience with her 'shadow' self, she might break down or not want to talk about it" Damion explained.

"Mental stability? If she's feeling fine, then that's good, right?" Ran asked.

"That may be her putting on a tough face and trying to suppress what happened to her with her 'shadow', and she might go back to feeling alone for a while. She needs positive experiences for the next week, and a lot of attention. Hopefully, she'll be mentally stable by that time, and ready to talk about her 'shadow' encounter. Perhaps we might be able to get to the real reason why her emotions suddenly came out to confront her" the necromancer explained.

"I'm lost" Reimu said, scratching her head.

Damion chuckled. "Alright, just keep me updated for the next week about Chen's behavior. If you want to talk to her about her shadow experience, bring it up gently, and using a roundabout way. I'll check in with her in a week to see if she's recovered mentally. In the meantime, make sure to make her feel irreplaceable, give her simple tasks if she asks to help out, and make sure she doesn't feel alone. Talk to her about various topics, including things that make her worried. Just… treat her like family" the young man said to the gap youkai and her shikigami.

"I thought we've… treated each other like this 'family' that I've been hearing that humans do" Yukari replied.

"Apparently, she didn't feel that the three of you were family"

"Damion-san, what do you mean?" Ran asked.

Damion sighed. "Try acting like a mother-figure to Chen…" he then turned to Yukari, "What is it that you do for Chen, Yukari-san?"

Yukari, upon being asked this, was confused. Ran also tried contributing to the question being asked.

There was silence for a while. This also told the necromancer that Yukari was neglecting something very important.

Damion sighed again. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but… Yukari-san isn't doing enough to make sure her shikigami are feeling like family"

Yukari then became defensive. "What do you mean, I'm not doing enough?"

"Let me ask you this… what do you do for your shikigami, or your shikigami's shikigami?" Damion asked sternly.

"Damion, let it go. Shikigami aren't…" Reimu began.

"No, it's just that hearing Chen's problem and her shadow appearing means that something is wrong with not just herself, but also around those close to her" Damion interrupted Reimu.

"Damion-san, please drop this… I don't see how this relates to Yukari-sama" Ran asked him.

"Let me put it this way… it's like humans having youkai as pets… they will feel lonely if they aren't taken care of properly, or even attack their owner if they're neglected"

This analogy caught Reimu and the Yakumos completely by surprise.

"Shikigami aren't pets; they're servants to their owner" Ran said to the necromancer.

"Alright, let's use that train of thought then. Suppose I'm Chen's shikigami… I might be her servant, but I may harbor ill intentions or even consider murdering her if I've been treated badly, and scolded for doing things that I've been told to do… Let's consider that situation as an analogy to what I'm getting at, Ran-san and Yukari-san"

"Alright, let's suppose that I neglect Chen… wait, are you saying that Chen felt that way because… of Yukari's demand for my attention all the time?" Ran asked, realizing something.

Things were becoming clear to everyone in the room (Except for Chen, who was still unconscious from dealing with her 'shadow').

"I see this might be the root of the problem; Chen-chan was misunderstanding the selfishness of Yukari–san demanding complete attention from Ran-san all the time to be Ran-san ignoring her" Damion speculated aloud from what he heard.

"Wait, this is MY fault!" Yukari asked in surprise.

Damion nodded. "It's like taking care of children's children… you have to support your 'family'. Be there for not only your shikigami, but also your shikigami's shikigami… it's like your child's child that you have to take care of" the young man explained.

Realizing this, Yukari fell weak from realization.

"Ran, now that we have an idea of what MIGHT be the problem, please explain that we're going to have to make some changes, like some time set aside everyday to play with Chen and make her feel part of the 'family'" Damion said to the kitsune shikigami. He then turned to the gap youkai, "And you also need to learn that despite your ownership to Ran-san, she also has her own responsibility to Chen-chan. Try doing something nice for Ran-san and Chen-chan occasionally, like making breakfast for them, taking them to fun places, taking care of them instead of having them take care of you… try acting like THEIR shikigami for a day to see what it's like for them to serve you" he lectured her.

"Act… like their shikigami?" Yukari asked.

"I don't expect you to do that every day, but try it for one day to see what it's like to work for another. Giving gifts that they might like, taking them on a walk, cooking for them, doing chores that you normally have them do for you, stuff like that… you know?" the young man suggested.

Yukari, upon the revelation, understood the problem.

Now, Chen awoke from exhaustion. She was still weak from getting used to her body adjusting to her newly acquired power, but awoke from unconsciousness.

"Where… am I?" Chen asked weakly.

"Chen!" Ran said as she held her shikigami in her arms.

"Now that you're awake, it's time for me to tell you all my story. Chen, please listen as you may want to hear this…" Damion said to Chen, then to everyone in the room.

He explained his past; his home world, the friends he made, the 'game' his creator made, how he was a creation from a god to be a participant in the 'game'. He then told them about the friends he made during his travels with his friends during the tournament, how he fought alongside them, and then… the ultimate choice he had to make after learning the outcomes of killing his friends and being killed himself. He explained what that kind of situation was called; a Heinz Dilemma. He briefly told them what that was, and why it's terrible. After explaining that, he told them what he did during that dilemma and why he did so. After telling them that, he told them what happened after he killed his friends; his home world blew up, but he used his 'prize' to escape the world with a power. After being saved, he was taken in by Deaths of various worlds and was turned into their shikigami, and trained to be a shinigami stand-in. After explaining all that, he talked about his time in the world of Persona.

"Wow… you got off worse than I was" Chen admitted.

"Chen-chan, unlike you, I had to make a rash decision, using my instinct to survive after learning the dangers that can wipe out ALL life. It was my fear of dying that led me to act selfish back then… because I was weak. It was only after I became a stand-in shinigami that I became strong, mentally, and was able to accept my losses" Damion said to the nekomata shikigami.

Chen smiled, and admitted something, "You're right… If I was in your situation, I'd probably do the same, maybe wait for the end of all life in that world"

"Chen-chan… I saved you… so that you wouldn't have to suffer loneliness and despair the same way I went through. I also learned of your hatred of humans for their faults, but… that's just how things are. If there was a way for humans to extend their lifespan, then perhaps we humans can live longer to keep up with youkai" Damion chuckled.

Chen giggled at that.

"I could… cut the border between life and death for humans… with my gap power… but, I fear that humans will mistake that for immortality and do stupid things with that gift" Yukari added.

"Border between life and death? I don't think such a thing exists" Damion countered.

"No, it's true. She can prolong a person's life by extending their border between life and death by severing the link between life and death with her gaps. That is a temporary solution, but the link will usually be repaired in a few years" Ran explained.

"I think I'll stick with the 'link' I have with Death, otherwise I may be out of a job and/or killed myself" Damion muttered.

"Then… Knowing this, what do you plan to do with that knowledge?" Yukari asked him.

"Absolutely nothing. I don't understand how that is supposed to work, nor do I think I have the right to tell anyone" the necromancer answered.

Yukari chuckled, since she wasn't expecting this answer. "I thought you would've jumped at me, demanding I would do what I talked about"

"Part of me wanted to do that, but… I know that immortality isn't the answer to my problem with loyalty to Death"

"What are you talking about?" Chen asked again.

Damion turned to the nekomata and told her, "I have my own master I need to serve, but… he put me here in case he needed me to… do stuff that… he needed done"

"Stuff? Like what?" Chen asked.

"Taking the souls of the deceased to Death himself. I don't know why, but… he hasn't been assigning me jobs lately" the young man answered.

"Taking souls of the deceased? You mean like Rin Kaenbyou taking dead bodies to the Hell of Blazing Fires?" Chen asked.

This got Ran, Yukari, and Ran curious as well.

"No, not exactly. I take the souls of the deceased with me when I leave a world. It's difficult to understand, but it's basically the same duties as a shinigami"

"So then… you kill those that are close to dying?" Ran asked.

"Sorry, but yes. However… I have a different method of doing so instead of just ending the lives of the dying… I let them have peaceful, happy endings before taking their souls. I explained to Death that I do this because of my human side of me not wanting to kill because of duties. I get yelled at for being late to kill the dying, but he does understand that my human side is a part of me, and it influences my work" the necromancer explained.

"Oh, I thought you were a human shinigami that was the same as the other shinigami" Yukari muttered.

Damion apologized again. "Sorry, but let's get back to the important matter at hand: Chen-chan" the young man reminded them.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded.

"Chen-chan, I've been talking with Ran-san and Yukari-san about a few changes to help make sure you feel important and not forgotten. Whether Yukari agrees to help you is up to her, but… You need to take it easy for a week to recover from that bad experience" Damion said to the nekomata.

"Why?" Chen asked.

"Why what?"

"Why are you going so far as to making Yukari-sama change for me?"

Damion sighed. "It's because I don't want you to suffer something similar to what I have went through. Chen-chan, I feel your pain, and I don't want you to… well… feel like you're alone. Being alone, unimportant, ignored, shunned, and rejected by everyone… that's even worse than death from suicide or bad luck"

"It's… worse than death?" Reimu and Ran asked together.

"You won't understand it because you don't know what it's like to be alone, unimportant, ignored, shunned, or rejected… Just take the word of someone who knows what that's like. I've heard stories from deceased humans that welcomed Death and died happily because they were alone and rejected by their friends. I felt sad for those that chose death instead of trying to make new friends"

The young man's point was crystal clear to them now. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to them; it's ONE of the worst things that can happen to a human.

"Now then, I think I've explained everything there is to be explained. I need to get back to Kaguya-san and continue where I left off teaching her about life as a worker, and how friendship works" the necromancer said to them.

"Wait, Kaguya… as in THE Kaguya Houraisan?" Reimu asked. She had the look of surprise, and of hate.

"What, you got something against her?" he asked the shrine maiden.

"No, it's just that… she and Eirin were the cause of why we had to start the Imperishable Night" Reimu told him.

"Imperishable Night? I think I heard a bit about that from Eirin-san, but not a lot in detail" he answered.

Reimu explained the events of the Imperishable Night to him. The moon that one night was fake, and how that they wanted the real moon to return. Thus, she and Yukari travelled together to find out the source of the fake moon.

Yukari and Reimu took turns explaining what they learned from that night.

"So that's why you seemed hostile towards me returning to Kaguya-san" the young man said, understanding the reasons now.

"Yeah, but it's best you don't bring this up with Kaguya or anyone at Eientei… they probably would get hostile from hearing about this" Reimu advised.

Damion nodded.

Now, Yukari used her trademark powers to open two gaps in her house, one leading back to the Hakurei Shrine, while the other led to Eientei.

Reimu left in the one leading to her shrine. Damion, before leaving into the gap to Eientei, turned to Yukari and Ran.

"Just remember the things I told you, and then I'll teach Chen how to control and use her new power after a week has passed when she's mentally recovered" he said to Yukari and Ran before entering the gap.

* * *

><p>Upon leaving the gap, he was back inside the living room area. Kaguya and Eirin were sitting there talking until they saw the young man return.<p>

"Sorry for the long wait, Kaguya-sama. I've been busy helping Chen… face her shadow self" Damion said as he returned to his seat. He was still rather beat up and worn out from the battle, and the two girls noticed this upon his return.

"Whoah, what kind of danmaku did that shadow do to you to make you THIS badly hurt?" Eirin asked, getting up to get a medical kit.

Damion sat down and explained what happened. "It's a melee and magic fight when you deal with those 'shadows'. Those 'shadow' selves are susceptible to other shadow's skills or Persona skills"

"Either way, you need to rest properly before I send you back to the human village; it's almost evening" Eirin told the young man.

"Look, a little rest, some healing from a Persona's skill, and taking it easy should heal the wounds in no time. In the meantime… I'm going to have to make a little something for Chen-chan to allow her to control her new power"

"Wait a minute, Chen has a new power?" Kaguya asked.

"Yeah, the power of Persona"

"Wow, she might be more formidable than ever"

"Not quite… after she stood up to her shadow self and accepting the emotions, rejected ideas, and reality, she… well… made it clear to her shadow self that she's not as weak as she believed she was, and that took a LOT of guts, strength, and desire to change to make it happen"

"So… Chen has… changed?"

"Yeah. Her encounter with her shadow self put a huge strain on her mental stability. She needs positive experiences like being treated like a REAL family, being given time aside so that Ran-san can play with her instead of Yukari-san taking all of Ran-san's time… Long story short, Chen was feeling inferior and rejected" Damion told them.

"So… what do you mean, mental stability?" Kaguya asked him.

The necromancer told her in simple terms what mental stability was; it was like a gauge of sorts that measures how close one is from losing sanity and becoming crazy. It's NEVER good to lose one's sanity, so mental stability is important.

"So that's what you meant" Eirin commented.

"Mental health is just as important as physical health"

"Oh, is there some kind of special medicine that helps mental health?"

"I'm afraid not… Mental health, as far as I know right now, can only be maintained by the will of the individual and the circumstances around them, Eirin. I don't mean to be disrespectful by saying that, but I don't think medication of any kind helps an individual's mental health" the necromancer informed her.

Eirin, upon hearing this, frowned.

"Geez, is this going to go on forever, or are you going to apologize for leaving me for that idiot gap youkai's selfishness?" Kaguya demanded angrily.

Now it was the young man to grow angry.

"Kaguya! DON'T YOU DARE THINK THAT SHE CALLED ME OUT OF SELFISHNESS! IT WAS A REAL EMERGENCY THAT DEMANDED MY ATTENTION OR IT WOULD'VE CAUSED TROUBLE AND MAYBE TRAGEDY COULD'VE HAPPENED!" he yelled to her.

Kaguya, upon being yelled at, flinched at the outburst, and turned to Eirin for help.

This time, Eirin gave the young man her support on the matter.

"Sorry, Kaguya-sama, but there are matters that are more important to deal with" Eirin muttered softly.

"Wha… even you, Eirin-san?"

"Listen to me, Kaguya-sama. When it comes to life-and-death, matters like that are more important than serving others…" Eirin began.

"…otherwise, you risk losing those who are your friends, servants, or special someone close to you…" the young man continued.

"…so, please understand that not everything revolves around you" Eirin finished.

The double-team explanation to Kaguya made her upset, mostly over the fact that her best supporter was even going against her indirectly.

"Eirin-san…" Kaguya muttered.

"Kaguya-sama. I'm going to have to teach you about priorities that people, even Eirin, have. You may think that you're the highest priority here, but… are you going to hate them when there are emergencies that absolutely NEED their attention?" Damion asked.

"Of course… They're MY servants, and I need their attention more than anyone else" Kaguya boasted.

"Damion-san… I leave the lessons of priorities to you… tomorrow" Eirin said to the necromancer.

"Huh? Why tomorrow?" he asked.

She pointed outside, and he saw the reason why. "Oh, alright"

The young man got up and bowed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Eirin-san… Kaguya-sama" he said to the two girls before leaving the mansion.

* * *

><p>Outside, he met with Reisen Undongein Inaba.<p>

"Oh, you're rather late heading home and…" she began, but then noticed the damage on him. "Whoah, what happened?"

"Gensokyo's first victim to meeting their 'shadow' self… Chen-chan" he answered.

"What? Chen? What could possibly cause her to make her meet her…"

"Ask Eirin-san or Yukari-san. They'll tell you the details. I need to get back to the human village to check in with Keine-san or she might worry" the young man told her.

"Wait a minute… how are you going to explain to Keine-san your wounds?"

"I'll just tell her the truth, but tell the humans in the village that I came across a POWERFUL youkai that gave me a run for my money, and escaped" he told her.

"Sheesh, at least have Eirin tend to those wounds first" Reisen said to him.

"I'll be fine, Reisen-san. I just need a good night's rest, some healing magic, and I'll be good as new" he assured her.

This comment made Reisen calm down from her worry, and let it go at that.

"I've got an extremely important lesson to teach Kaguya-sama tomorrow… it's about priorities" he informed her.

"Priorities?"

"What comes first to people, like life-and-death emergencies, family obligations, finances, stuff that people place as most important before anything else"

"Wow, that might be tough for Kaguya-sama to learn, considering she came from having everything she wanted, at the time that she wanted them" Reisen muttered.

"I know, and that is the reason WHY it's going to be difficult for me to explain what priorities are to her, why they're more important than her demands, and why knowing about priorities is vital and mandatory in maintaining friendship"

"I see… good luck with teaching her that… you really need it if you are going to teach her that thing" she said before bowing, and then entering the mansion.

After Reisen entered the mansion, the necromancer made his way out of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, especially since he remembered the way from following Mokou for the last few days.

* * *

><p>Back at the human village, Keine was outside, almost as if waiting for the young man.<p>

"You're late, Damion-san. I was worried you might've gotten…" Keine scolded, but then noticed the damage to him. "Whoah, what happened?"

He explained what happened; 'Shadow Chen', the fight, Chen's past, Chen's worries that made her shadow appear, and how Chen is going to be mentally unstable for the next week even though she looks fine.

"So that's what happened" Keine muttered.

"Yeah, a LOT has happened, and now I have to teach Kaguya-san about priorities, since she was pissed off at Yukari-san about that 'Shadow' emergency"

"Well, I know you aren't at fault since it was an emergency"

"Yeah, but convincing and teaching Kaguya-san about emergencies and priorities is going to be difficult"

"Yeah, she was the selfish type who didn't care about anyone but herself"

"I can tell that much from what I heard from Eirin-san, but…"

"…but…?"

"I'm going to need some rest for the night" Damion said, stretching carefully to avoid straining his body from the battle earlier.

Keine sighed, and led him into the village.

* * *

><p>Inside, he did the same thing his best friend usually did before; sleeping on rooftops.<p>

Once he settled himself on a roof of one of the buildings, he put his hands behind his head while on his back.

"_So this is how he made it through the nights back in that world before that of the Persona world_" he thought to himself.

Sleeping through the nights outside once in a while, though weird at first, had its advantages. The young man realized this when he looked up at the night sky. It was… peaceful, and watching the sky… despite being outside in the cold… it was, an odd experience for him, especially since he didn't know the finer points of his best friend's life.

"_Drake… I wonder what you're up to right now? I'm here in this land called Gensokyo, a land of fantasy, and of youkai. I wonder what you'd think of this place if you came here. There are plenty of girls here, and I kind of wonder which one might be your type_" he thought to himself as he gazed at the night sky. "_Still… battling alongside you back then in that world… was probably the best time I had. I wish those days of battling with you and our Personas… would continue. Sadly… those days were short, and came with a heavy price of end of world_"

He continued thinking about his best friend until he became sleepy, and his eyes drooped until they closed completely.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER<p>

Author's notes:

Yukari Yakumo, being the troll she is, threatened me to make a shadow of someone in Gensokyo. Her reasoning made a lot of sense, and now I believe she'll take it easy on me now that she understands what they are. Shame that I had to use Chen to make her understand. I could've been a d*ck and created Shadow Yukari, but that'd be difficult for Damion's Personas to handle so soon (I refuse to give the new Wild Card user the strongest Personas so early in the fic… He, Like Drake, needs to EARN them through battles, and fusing them. This is to keep Damion's power balanced to avoid being overpowered).


	6. Anger Management

DISCLAIMER: I only own my OCs.

* * *

><p>Morning came after a good night's rest. Damion, though, wasn't too happy about waking up to the sunlight interrupting his dream.<p>

The dream in question was a memory of his fight for survival in his home world. Rather, he was dreaming about the fun times he spent with his friends who were fellow contenders of a tournament. Watching over his friends, fighting for survival, and being able to eliminate his enemies… those were fun yet dangerous times for him.

After the events yesterday, things might be tricky for the necromancer, especially with Kaguya's demand for attention from him to teach her about friendship. Now, he's going to have to teach her one of the most important aspects of friends: priorities.

Leaving early, the young man passed Keine on his way out of the village.

* * *

><p>Once outside the village, the young man turned to the velvet door and entered it.<p>

* * *

><p>Damion took his seat across from Igor in the velvet room church.<p>

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, Damion-san" Igor greeted as the young man was seated.

"What can we do for you?" Margaret asked him.

The young man laid out the Persona cards in front of him. "Alright, so I found a few Persona cards besides Izanagi, how did he work with them?"

Igor nodded and let his assistant explain.

"Like the previous guest here, all he did was train his Personas through battles against enemies. I take it the enemies here are youkai?" Margaret asked.

The young man nodded 'yes'.

"I suppose this is how you got your Personas so far" Margaret thought, "But… aren't some of those youkai friendly and willing to communicate with humans?"

"Yeah, it seems I might be able to make a change in this world IF the youkai here are able to comprehend everything and control this power" Damion said to the assistant.

Igor and Margaret nodded to acknowledge this. "True, but there's a problem with that revolution: Are the youkai willing to change themselves first before obtaining their power?" Igor asked.

Damion saw his point.

"Well, there was an incident yesterday, and I'm sure you already know the answer to this"

"An incident, you say? Please, tell us about it" Igor asked, feigning ignorance.

The young man told them about this incident; namely, 'Shadow Chen'. Of course, Igor and Margaret already knew about this, since they somehow keep track of their 'guest' through unexplainable means.

"Fascinating, this might be the start of something new" Margaret muttered as she listened to the necromancer talk.

After explaining that incident to them, Igor told Damion about how that was the first step in preventing the deaths of those close to him.

"Although I praise your victory in preventing her death, I must ask that you continue supporting those that are perilously close to being killed by their 'shadows'" Igor warned him.

The young man simply nodded.

"That woman that can grow horns is outside, calling to you right now. I suggest you take your leave and find out what that woman wants" Margaret told him.

"Really?" the young man asked.

"Until next we meet, farewell" Igor said as the young man stood up to leave.

* * *

><p>Back in Gensokyo, outside the human village, Damion looked like he snapped out of a trance. Apparently, Keine was standing next to him, calling his name.<p>

"Hey, what's wrong with you standing in that one spot staring at the village?" Keine asked him.

Shaking his head, he brushed off her question as though clueless. "Sorry, it's just that there's something I'm pondering, and I forgot about"

The early morning breeze kicked in.

"Whatever, I heard from Mokou-san that you managed to get out of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost by yourself"

"Yeah, I guess it must've been that I kept track of the directions we used… or something like that"

"It's near-impossible to navigate that forest by yourself. I'd say you were lucky to get out of there alive. Mokou-san was rather upset" Keine scolded.

"I'm sorry…"

"Tell that to Mokou-san when she gets here"

"That… I will do. Besides, I'm not sure if Kaguya-san requires my lessons today… Yesterday was eventful, with Chen almost 'dying' from her 'shadow' self"

"Oh, yes. You told me about that yesterday"

"And… now she needs a week to recover from that experience… mentally"

"Yeah, she needs to… WAIT A MINUTE! Don't distract me from the problem!"

"I had no intention of changing the subject!" Damion clarified.

"Alright then, how do you plan to make up for Mokou-san's worries?"

"That… I'm not sure how to 'make up' for it. What, exactly, do you want me to do anyway?"

"For starters, apologize and explain that you got lucky in escaping that place when she gets here" Keine scolded. Her hands were on her hips, and she was leaning forward.

The necromancer knew to never argue with a woman, **especially** when he **knows** they are _absolutely_ right in every way (Key words are **absolutely right in every way**). As much as he would like to argue in his defense about not thinking straight after that battle, he decided to drop the matter and wait until she's not upset to tell her the whole story.

"Okay, okay… I'll apologize to her!" the young man agreed in defeat.

Keine nodded, and straightened up to standing straight.

"Good, now that that's settled, what were you doing standing there staring at the village?" she asked him, changing the subject.

He told her about the velvet room being there, that only residents and guests of the velvet room can see and enter the door, and how it's the only place that he knows of so far that has an entrance to said room.

"Velvet Room? Door? There's nothing there" Keine replied. "Are you still half-asleep or something?"

Then, it clicked in the young man's mind that she couldn't be lying, and that it was true about non residents not being able to see the Velvet Room door.

"Oh, never mind then; it's probably just waking up that's making me see things" Damion laughed lightly.

Keine sighed and asked him about how he and Mokou were doing.

The necromancer answered back, saying they're just casual friends who have both lost some important people to them; nakama, or so to say. Keine nodded in response to this and added her thoughts on their relationship that she was hoping for.

"Anyway, I was hoping you and Mokou-san would become close enough where you could, say, be the one person she can depend on whenever she feels lonely or scared" Keine admitted bluntly.

This came as a surprise to the young man.

"Wh-wha! Are you implying that I be her… 'boyfriend'?" Damion asked back in surprise.

Keine smacked the necromancer on the head with the back of her palm.

"Idiot, I didn't mean for you to go that far so soon" the were-hakutaku youkai answered as though scolding some idiocy.

"News flash, I'm still a beginner at this 'intimacy' thing" Damion reminded her.

"Doesn't matter if you're a beginner or not; protecting girls is the job of a guy" Keine argued.

"That's according to certain Earth customs and their idea of chivalry. I have my own method of chivalry, and it isn't as simple as protecting girls" the young man made his counter-argument.

Keine then pointed at Damion's face.

"OBJECTION! Whether you follow Earth's customs or your own, you can't simply abandon those who depend on you"

Damion winced at the last part of her argument and went silent.

Keine had the upper hand in this conversation, until she noticed something wrong; Damion's silence wasn't just to show weakness in the face of someone else; it was being reminded of his own hell.

"Damn it, why did you have to remind me of the circumstances that made me abandon my own friends back home! I've been suppressing that memory myself and sharing that experience with those that matter to me so they can understand that I'm not just a person who looks out for number one" Damion cursed.

This reminder of his past made Keine back off for a moment.

"I…I forgot that you were… trying to forget" Keine muttered.

The necromancer turned to leave. "I… just need to cool my head a little. Taking out some… 'unfriendly' youkai might give me the distraction I need right now"

"Hold on a moment! What do you expect me to tell Mokou-san if she gets here and asks for you?" Keine stopped him.

"I'll probably be gone for about a half-hour to an hour at most, and I'll probably just stick around the 'Youkai Mountain' area near the entrance…"

"You can't! Not Youkai Mountain by yourself!"

"Alright then, where do YOU suggest I go to distract myself from the pain of being forced to abandon and murder my friends!" Damion shouted.

This outburst shocked Keine.

It only took a moment before the young man realized what he just said and HOW he said it.

"Damn it… I just… need some time alone" he said to her before running off.

Keine tried to give chase, but she knew she can't get too far away from the village. Knowing this, she gave up and let the young man have his time to sort out his mind.

* * *

><p>~~ Youkai Mountain ~~<p>

There were many strong and weak youkai of various sorts. Some of them were bug-related, others were based on animals.

Battling each of them was a hassle by itself. 'Scan'-ing one brought information on them, like their weaknesses and strength.

Most of these battles were along the path in the mountain area that was almost designated for tourists.

"_Tch, why the hell did I even lose my cool back there over something as simple as a painful memory?_" the necromancer thought to himself as he was fighting off a bug type youkai.

The bug-type youkai was certainly weak, but it was calling for reinforcements while fighting off the human.

The bug-type youkai managed to fight off the necromancer for a few more minutes until its reinforcements arrived; a human-like youkai that was wearing dark blue pants and a white shirt, a black cape on its back. Two antennas on its head was almost a clear indication of a bug-type youkai, but it was too human-like to be a bug-type youkai.

"What the hell are you doing to my friends!" the reinforcement human-like bug youkai asked the necromancer sternly.

Turning around to face the reinforcement, Damion was not happy to see the reinforcement. He didn't say anything this time around.

"I'll ask again; why are you attacking my friends when they haven't done anything to you humans in a long time?" the human-like bug youkai with the cape asked him again.

"The hell do you mean, 'in a long time'? I don't even know what the hell you're talking about" Damion shot back to the human-like bug youkai.

"Can you just stop and talk about this? I'll call off the attack!" the human-like bug youkai asked. It then said, in bug language, to its comrade to stop.

Fortunately, the bug youkai that wasn't human-like obeyed its comrade and stopped.

The other bug-type youkai that were attacking the young man also ceased their attack.

This also led the necromancer to stop.

Resting on a log nearby, Damion sat down.

"Alright, why are you attacking us?" the human-like bug youkai asked him.

The necromancer answered, "I'm just venting my anger because of being reminded of a VERY painful memory." Damion made it clear while showing his sorrow; folding his arms together in front of him with a pained expression, he began to tell the youkai his troubles.

After hearing the explanation of a bitter memory, the cape-wearing human-like youkai sat down next to him.

"I'd eat you right now if I could, but you're definitely the guy Yukari warned us not to eat" the cape-wearing youkai replied.

This statement caught the necromancer off-guard.

"Yukari warned you… not to eat me?" he asked.

The diplomatic youkai nodded.

"Can't be… She ain't THAT nice" Damion muttered.

"Why not?" the diplomatic youkai asked again.

"She's too full of herself to care about others" Damion shot back.

"Not exactly; she was very clear about us not killing you, which is a first from her" the negotiating youkai replied.

"Now why would she make it clear to the other youkai not to eat me? All I did was save her shikigami's shikigami from a complicated death. It's too complicated for youkai to understand"

"Are you sure?"

"It involves psychology and supernatural forces that influence and manifest personalities into physical form"

Those words made the talkative youkai turn quiet for a moment.

"What does that mean?" the cape-wearing youkai asked.

"Never mind, too long a story, and probably too complicated for you to comprehend without the basic knowledge of psychology"

"You're right"

Damion figured, at this point, they get to know one another.

"My name's Damion" the necromancer introduced himself.

"Wriggle Nightbug. I'm a firefly youkai that usually leaves humans alone" the youkai, Wriggle, introduced herself.

"Sorry about the attack; I was venting my anger on anything I could to distract myself" Damion apologized.

"Just what was it that made you upset?" Wriggle asked him.

He told her about being reminded of a decision he had to make, which caused him to murder his friends so he could stop a game from being repeated infinitely, and to save himself.

"…and that's about it" Damion concluded.

"I have a general idea of what you mean, but it can't be THAT bad to kill someone to save oneself, can it?" Wriggle responded.

Another misunderstanding happened, and it pissed off Damion.

"DAMNIT! DO YOU NOT HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT IT'S LIKE TO PERMANENTLY LOST SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU!" he snapped at her.

The other bug-type youkai suddenly readied themselves for an assault, thinking the outburst was a declaration of war.

Damion noticed the defensive youkai ready to attack.

"Um, Damion-san, I don't get it" Wriggle replied.

"Damn it, losing someone close to you is probably too much for someone to have to deal with especially when those they lost are the ones closest to them"

"What do you mean by 'someone close to you'?"

Upon being asked this, Damion realized why she asked him that.

"Oh, you really don't know?" he asked her.

Wriggle nodded her head.

Damion sighed.

"Suppose I killed several of your friends in front of you… would you feel sad for their deaths?" he asked her.

"I would, but I'd also avenge their deaths"

"Good, that's the feeling I had back then, except it was me that killed my own friends"

"Now why would you do something despicable like that?"

"It was either I kill them to stop a game from continuing infinitely, or I let the game continue in a cycle of death that was destroying my home world"

"That doesn't make a lot of sense" Wriggle admitted.

"Of course it doesn't; there were other rules that applied to that world, like being able to read about your immediate future with a machine that can do just that, or by destroying those devices causes the owner of those devices to instantly be wiped out from existence"

The firefly youkai folded her arms and closed her eyes to imagine that kind of scenario.

In her mind, she was imagining a Gensokyo that was run by the Kappa, and their technology was so far advanced that they were able to invent small machines like watches that show the future of its wearer. The people of that imaginary Gensokyo were so jealous of those Kappa that they swore to destroy those future telling watches and the research that made them up. When the people of Wriggle's imaginary Gensokyo, based on Damion's explanation, learned what happened to the owners of the destroyed future telling watches, they were horrified at the thought of being attached or owners of those devices. She then imagined the Kappa of that imaginary world creating a game to select a few of the Gensokyo population, that weren't Kappa, to a game where several contestants have to destroy the other contestants' future telling watches, and the last one remaining gets to rule the Kappa.

Wriggle then told the necromancer about her imaginary scenario.

"Some parts of that imaginary reality are true, but most of it were not even close to what happened to me" Damion clarified.

"What parts were true then?" Wriggle asked him.

At this point, Damion decided to give another resident of Gensokyo his past. "Alright, perhaps it's best I tell you my past so you can understand WHAT I went through, and then I'll tell you WHY I was angry when I was reminded of that moment…"

He gave Wriggle the basics of his home world; his friends who he was supposed to protect, the enemies he was able to befriend, the enemies he had to take down, and the 'game' that he was talking about. Naturally, Wriggle asked questions about some of the details she didn't understand, and the necromancer explained them the best he could without making a pained expression.

* * *

><p>~~ Meanwhile, at the entrance to the human village ~~<p>

Fujiwara no Mokou arrived at the entrance to the human village. Keine was standing there as though waiting for someone.

"Hello, Keine. Is he ready to continue his 'tutoring' to that… bitch?" Mokou asked Keine casually.

"He ran off this morning to let off some steam at Youkai Mountain. I tried to stop him, but I believe it's my fault for causing him to get angry" Keine replied.

Upon hearing _where_ he went, Mokou nearly flipped out.

"Is he trying to get himself killed over a bad memory!" Mokou nearly screamed.

"I think it's more of the scolding I gave him about protecting girls" Keine frowned.

"Why would he be upset at protecting girls?"

"I believe he thought protecting girls meant keeping them safe, even from himself"

"Geez, that idiot! Why does he think he has to protect everyone he meets?" Mokou was now furious at the thought of him trying to protect everyone; she was thinking he was shouldering too much on his shoulders.

"Actually, the focus of the protecting girls… was for him to protect YOU, Mokou-chan" Keine admitted, somewhat upset.

Mokou, upon hearing the real reason, stopped.

"EH! Protect ME!" the fire-manipulator screamed.

"It's more of him being there for you in your times of need when I can't be there for you. That, and I know you might be able to learn a thing or two about his strength to carry on despite difficult times" Keine added.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean, learning from his strength!" Mokou asked again.

"Did you notice how he tried to talk about the past and stop himself from breaking down? That, and he also tried to politely avoid the topic in order to keep that history suppressed" Keine lectured her.

"Now you're starting to sound like him" Mokou commented. Now, she was beginning to think that he might've been an unusual influence on her friend.

"I'm telling you this because I have a better understanding of what he was talking about, with that 'psychology' and all"

"What does psycho-whatever have to do with him?"

"Remember when you were in your depression after drinking the Hourai Elixir? You were psychologically hurt from your troubles"

"Just WHAT is this psycho-whatever?" Mokou yelled, confused all the while.

"It's the state of your mind, like keeping away bad memories, the WAY YOU THINK, and how you look at your environment"

"How… you think?"

"Yes, I know it's weird, but I have asked some of the humans about psychology, and I was surprised that it's an important part of their lives; it also explains why humans forgive one another for mistakes, and why they punish others for coming up with very complex plans. I also learned a little about it from the children's parents with parent/teacher meetings that was scheduled yesterday" Keine added.

"I never even knew that people can study things like others' minds by their actions"

"With that in mind, I think I might've upset him by bringing up a bad memory and scolding him for something he couldn't control" Keine frowned again, looking down.

"You scolded him… for doing what he did because he had no choice?" Mokou asked her. She was in disbelief when she learned what happened to her friend.

"If he comes back, I'll be sure to properly correct my mistake"

"I hope you do, Keine"

"If he's still alive, he'll probably still be at Youkai Mountain somewhere"

"Damn it, why would he go there of all places? Unsupervised too!"

Right now, it was clear that Mokou was somewhat protective of the young man.

"I can't leave the village to get him, so I have to ask that you find him for me, and send him my apologies" Keine asked her pyrokinetic friend.

"No need to tell me twice; I'll give him a smack in the head for making me worry, twice for making me worry if he got lost in the forest last night, and now for running into that dangerous area for normal humans!" Mokou replied.

"Don't hit him too hard; Yukari might be upset since she's informed everyone to yell for her if they come across a doppelganger that spouts nonsense that is really their inner thoughts and secrets"

"Come again?"

"Shortly after the incident last night that caused him to be badly hurt, he asked Yukari to keep an eye on everyone. The reason was so that she can get him to help resolve the 'doppelgangers' incidents that might kill their original" Keine added.

"He asked HER to keep an eye on everyone?" Mokou screamed again.

"As strange as it seems, I think there are other reasons why he wanted her to watch everyone in case of those doppelganger incidents"

"Geez, how the hell does he even consider protecting everyone? No, WHY is he going that far to protect everyone he knows?"

"That, I'm afraid, is something you need to ask him, Mokou-chan"

"Right, now I have a couple of things I NEED to know from him"

"Good luck then"

"I'll come back when I've made sure he's safe at Eientei to let you know" Mokou promised before turning around.

She ran faster than she could, mostly due to learning about the burden her friend carried with him, and after learning the basics on the concept he was always talking about.

"_Now I can return to class without worrying_" Keine thought to herself as she returned to inside the human village.

* * *

><p>~~ Youkai Mountain ~~<p>

The necromancer finished telling his story for the umpteenth time since arrival in Gensokyo, this time to Wriggle Nightbug.

"Wow, that was either made up or you are lucky to even be here" Wriggle commented as the young man explained his history.

"Now that you know, you must understand that bringing up that moment just pains me, and it gets worse when I'm being told off for something I can't control" Damion answered, resting his head on his wrists.

"I think that power might be the thing Yukari is trying to get you to use for her if she's told almost everyone to not kill or eat you" Wriggle pondered aloud.

The necromancer looked at the androgynous youkai as though she answered an important question. "You really think that's why she's put some kind of ban on everyone?"

"No! It's just a thought as to why she'd try to ensure your safety" Wriggle replied defensively.

"Well, I hope that's the case, because I can't imagine her being nice because I saved her shikigami's shikigami; she seems too self-centered to care about anyone else" the necromancer answered.

"Still, it's rather odd for her to do that"

"I guess"

"Hey, do you hate bugs?" Wriggle asked him.

"Huh? Why bring this up?"

"I'm just curious"

"I don't know, but I guess they're an important part of the planet's ecosystem"

"You don't hate them?"

"Some of them are annoying or pesky, others can be fun to look at. I guess it depends on the bug itself"

"I see"

Wriggle sighed. "_Okay, a possibility_" she thought to herself.

"Why ask that question?" the young man asked her.

Wriggle snapped back from her thoughts. "I was just asking because I was hoping there would be at least one human that didn't hate bugs"

Damion, somewhat oblivious to what she was hinting at, was curious. "Uh… I think I've gotten over that incident this morning" he changed the subject.

Before Wriggle could reply, Fujiwara no Mokou arrived, knocking away the bug-type youkai in her way.

"There you are, Damion!" the female human yelled towards him.

Upon hearing her voice, he jumped in surprise. Wriggle also readied herself for battle.

"I thought you might've been dead by now! Do you have any idea of how worried I was about you! You left Eientei but got lucky in escaping the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, then had the nerve to argue with Keine!" she roared at the necromancer.

Hearing the yelling, Damion sighed and sat back down.

"Just what the hell were you thinking!" Mokou yelled at him.

Damion looked up to his human friend and answered, "It ain't much, but I'm sorry; I was too tired and beat up from the fight against 'Shadow Chen' to think straight, and it was purely luck that got me out of the forest"

Wriggle's curiosity in the matter of 'Shadow Chen' was piqued.

"Who is 'Shadow Chen'?" she asked him.

Damion sighed. He recapped the basics of 'shadows' and what they really are. Then, he only talked vaguely about the nekomata youkai's mental instability. Once that was explained, he told her the relationship between mental stability and the shadows.

"Geez, and I thought humans were bad enough!" Wriggle commented upon hearing about the 'shadows'. Rather, she was shaken by the thought of them.

"You've only met the ones that hate your kind. There are a few humans out there that love them, but those are hard to find" the necromancer said to the firefly youkai.

"I don't really care about that right now, you really need to take responsibility for making me and Keine worry about you, Damion!" Mokou yelled at the necromancer. She had her hands on her hips, and dismissed his legitimate excuse.

"Tch, fine then, YOU deal with potentially life-threatening… doppelgangers of Gensokyo… while trying to learn about a new world… on top of trying to improve your powers, as well as figure out ways to make a risky plan work when it comes to people's relationships in terms of helping to fix them… in addition to waiting to be called by Yukari when another 'doppelganger' attacks, as well as trying to sort out your own personal problems!" the young man shouted back.

"That's too freaking much to do at one time, you idiot!" Mokou argued back, "Do one of those things at one time!"

This time, the necromancer stopped.

"Um… what are you talking about?" Wriggle asked, butting into the conversation.

Fujiwara no Mokou stopped scolding her human friend and turned to the firefly youkai. "Oh, it's just nothing that concerns you"

"Actually, Mokou, it does have to do with her, as well as anyone in Gensokyo that's important" Damion countered.

"What do you mean 'important'?" Mokou asked him.

The necromancer sighed. "It means anyone that has a strong enough personality that CAN create a Persona"

"Oh, that shadow that became that 'persona' thing from 'Shadow' Chen?" Wriggle asked to clarify.

"Yeah. Personas are a big help and…"

"Sheesh, even the 'mighty' Yukari Yakumo couldn't handle a 'shadow'?" Mokou interrupted.

"Her mind, body, and beliefs were scattered and inconsistent with each other to allow her the power of Personas. I could feel that from her, but that's just a guess since I didn't scan that part when I first met her a few days ago" the young man replied.

"By the way, why isn't Wriggle trying to eat you? Did you best her in danmaku, flirt with her, caused her to have this ridiculous 'love at first sight' BS, or something else?" Mokou asked, noticing that Wriggle didn't eat or try to eat the human.

"Oh, that? Yukari told everyone around midnight last night to 'leave the new human male alone' for reasons unknown. Knowing Yukari, she probably has something in mind for him that she doesn't want us to know about yet" Wriggle answered.

"Danmaku? I have no idea what the hell that is, and even Yukari didn't explain it to me in a way that I understood"

"Danmaku isn't something males are capable of in Gensokyo, most of the time. As for what Danmaku is, It's simply bombarding your enemy with (Usually) magic bullets, sometimes with beautiful patterns" Mokou explained to him.

"Oh, that's what Danmaku is? Yukari could've just told me that and I wouldn't have asked what it was"

Mokou and Wriggle sweat-dropped upon hearing that.

"Anyway, you need to get back to Eientei. Who knows what they'll need you to explain to… **her…** about whatever it is that you teach her" Mokou reminded him.

The young man looked down and frowned. "I don't know if she'll listen, especially after her attitude towards me when I told her about the 'Shadow' Chen incident"

"Huh? She was pissed because you left to go help that hag's underling's underling? That's kind of pathetic" Mokou asked, as though saying 'did she just say that?'.

"I was in the middle of explaining something to her, when Yukari came in and informed me of what happened. Even then, I doubt that'd be an excuse enough to warrant being pissed at" the necromancer muttered.

"I agree with that, it's stupid to be angry over something that is urgent" Wriggle commented. She folded her arms as she said that.

"Regardless, you need to get over to Eientei soon; Eirin might worry" Mokou pointed out.

This got the young man to perk up.

"Alright, I'll check in with the pill pusher and determine whether or not to stay" Damion answered.

"Good, then it's time to get going" Mokou muttered. She then turned to Wriggle, "Thanks for finding him; who knows what might've happened if Yukari didn't ban others from eating him"

"I would've had my bug friends eat him for attacking them so suddenly, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding" Wriggle replied.

"Alright, see ya" the phoenix-fire user then turned to the young man and escorted him out of the Youkai Mountain entrance.

Along the way, they came across a rabbit youkai that was dressed similar to Reisen Udongein Inaba.

"Excuse me!" the female rabbit youkai asked Mokou and the young man.

Mokou and Damion stopped.

"Huh? Reisen Udongein Inaba?" Damion asked the rabbit youkai.

"Eh? Reisen… Udongein… Inaba? I don't know if she's the same Reisen I know from home" the rabbit youkai asked.

"Sorry, maybe you're one her fans and I mistook you for Reisen" the necromancer apologized.

"Anyway, I was about to ask if you saw a rabbit that wears similar clothing to mine named Reisen" the rabbit youkai asked them.

Just then, Damion remembered something Eirin told him about Earth rabbits and Moon rabbits being similar with their differences. At this time, he realized that this rabbit youkai might have come from the moon.

"Hold on, before I answer that, I need to ask if you came from the Capital of the Lunarian civilization" Damion demanded.

The mention of the word 'lunarian' made this rabbit youkai flinch. Of course, Damion noticed this flinch.

"I thought so, your flinching confirmed my guess about you being from the Lunarian capital" Damion said to the rabbit youkai.

"Wh-what-HOW! The Lunarian society is top-secret and shouldn't be known by the people of this land!" the Lunarian rabbit youkai screamed, "Did that traitor, Reisen, tell you about it!"

"Uh, Damion, let's get out of here and get you there" Mokou hastily said to Damion.

She tried to push him out of the area, but he resisted and stayed in place.

"Listen, Lunarian. I only managed to guess about it from very vague hints about a civilization on the moon when I talked to Reisen. She told me about the Lunarians when I found out and confirmed through her reactions about the civilization" Damion shouted at the Lunarian.

"That traitor! The commanders are going to hear about this!" the lunarian said to herself angrily.

"Answer me this; what business do you have with Reisen Udongein Inaba?" Damion demanded.

"Heh, as if I'd tell you!"

"Alright, let me ask you this; what is your purpose for coming here if the Lunarian capital is so 'top-secret'?"

"I'm only here to find our missing Princess and bring that traitor, Reisen, back; You're not involved in Lunarian affairs, so don't bother!" the Lunarian threatened.

"Actually, if it concerns Kaguya-sama, she's not in danger; she's being protected by me and a handful of other people"

"How do you know the Princess!"

"Like I said, she's being well protected here, myself included in protecting her. In fact, the princess is slowly learning what it's like to think about others!"

"Say WHAT! The Houraisen family has always been the ruling family, getting what they want and making all the important decisions! In addition, they've only thought about themselves throughout history"

"If that's the case, and the Houraisen family is so self-centered all this time, why even bother serving them at all?" Damion asked the Lunarian emissary.

"They have military power, extraordinary wealth, political influence, generous to those that follow, and even have a very powerful influence on the Lunarian legal system!" the Lunarian added.

"Alright, so they're some kind of leader. Why is a change in the princess's outlook on life so bad?"

"You idiot! Earthlings and people of this world may not realize it, but if a leader's usual method of governing or ruling changes, then the leader's people will take advantage of the change to make unnecessary and detrimental changes to the society as we know it!" the Lunarian responded.

"Alright, Damion, let's get going" Mokou interrupted for the second time to get him to leave the Lunarian.

"Sorry, but I'm not done with this Lunarian just yet, Mokou" Damion said to his female friend. Then, turning to the Lunarian, he asked, "Now, why is a change in the princess's outlook so bad… in simple terms?"

"It means there'll be chaos and anarchy until a new set of laws and societal norms are established!" the Lunarian explained.

"Oh, is that all? Just tell the public about the changes as a SUGGESTION, then pass the ideas through whatever system you use to pass laws by asking the people for their opinions, THEN add the changes to the laws one-by-one once each change has been approved!" Damion shouted.

This idea came as a complete surprise to the Lunarian. In fact, she was completely shocked by the idea altogether.

"Whatever, you came to get the princess and Reisen? You'll have to get by me to get to them" Damion added, returning to the other topic.

"You…" the Lunarian began, "You'll regret making a mockery of me, Reisen!" the Lunarian, identified as Reisen (Lunarian Reisen from SSiB), announced before jumping up in the air and vanishing into what looked like a gap. Unlike Yukari's gaps that was purple and had creepy yellow eyes, the gap the Lunarian used was pitch black with stars in the background.

"Huh, the Lunarian is also named Reisen, huh? Weird" Damion scoffed as he watched the Lunarian retreat back to wherever she came from.

"Now, let's get you to Eientei" Mokou said to the necromancer. She then led him out of Youkai Mountain and towards the location she was determined to get him to.

* * *

><p>~~ Eientei ~~<p>

It was around noon when the two of them arrived. Fujiwara no Mokou was still rather peeved at the young man for making her worry as well as being pretty beat up after the incident last night.

"Sheesh, you're quite a troublemaker, young man. I swear, you need to make sure you don't make those around you worry about you, Damion" Mokou scolded him as they arrived at Eientei.

Once the young man was at the door to the mansion, Mokou took her leave.

He knocked on the door, but someone answered it five seconds after the knocking. The person who was there was Tewi.

"Ah, it's Mr. Pervert" Tewi teased.

This tease, like before, didn't go well with him.

"Damn it, Tewi Inaba!" Damion yelled at her.

The rabbit youkai shut the door quickly and raced inside her mansion. The necromancer opened the door to give chase. The first room inside was the pharmacy room.

However, once Tewi made it to the door to another room, Eirin ran towards that door to stop Damion from pursuing the prankster.

"It'd be wise for you to let her go, Damion-san" Eirin threatened with some tranquilizer darts and pacifying medication in some needle vials. She already knew he wouldn't be able to catch her, and she needed to redirect his attention to more urgent matters.

"Tch, that little one has got to stop it with that or else I might lose my temper and trash her place" the necromancer muttered as he was stopped by the pharmacist.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to punish her later, Damion-san" Eirin said to him. Of course, she didn't really mean it since even she herself can't catch Tewi without coercion of some sort.

He backed off and let the rabbit youkai go. Of course, he was upset about it.

"Kaguya-sama and I were beginning to wonder if you were coming today since you usually arrive early morning" Eirin added.

He dropped the issue with Tewi and answered, "I wasn't really sure if I was going to come here today, with Kaguya… sama's reaction to the emergency I had to deal with regarding 'Shadow' Chen. My train of thought made me wonder if Kaguya-sama was going to listen to me at all"

"Oh, that? I made sure Kaguya-sama understand that she was the one in the wrong for being so selfish. She never really knew the value of one person's life, whether it is a servant, family, or friend" Eirin replied.

Hearing this, Damion sighed with relief.

"So, is she going to continue the lessons, or does she refuse to listen to reason after that?" he asked the pharmacist.

"Ask her yourself. Kaguya-sama, myself, and Yukari were talking earlier about those things called 'shadows' and the world they came from" Eirin replied.

"Wha?"

Eirin then opened the door behind her and led the young man into the back.

In the room, Kaguya was on the couch with her laptop computer. What she was doing on there was anyone's guess because she turned it off when she saw Damion enter.

He felt rather awkward, especially since he was told off for doing something he needed to in order to save someone.

"Have a seat, Damion-san" Kaguya said to the young man.

Nodding, the young man took a seat opposite side of the former Lunarian princess. She, too, felt somewhat awkward.

After Kaguya's selfish attitude towards the emergency he had to deal with, the young man assumed she was a hopeless cause, and didn't want to consider being friends. Kaguya, on the other hand, was feeling awkward for not realizing the importance of people's lives and still acted selfishly despite not realizing that at the time.

"Um"

"Well"

The two started, but were interrupted by one another.

"You first, Kaguya-sama" Damion offered.

"I… um… never knew how important someone's life was" Kaguya admitted quietly but loud enough for him to hear this.

"Yeah, never take someone's life for granted as it may just disappear the next moment, Kaguya-sama" Damion sighed, still feeling awkward.

"I just… I… didn't know how bad the situation would've been… if that 'shadow' thing… had succeeded in doing whatever it was going to do to Chen" Kaguya muttered.

The necromancer sighed and advised, "The stronger your bond with someone, the more impact it has on you if something happens to them"

"Your… bond?" Kaguya asked.

"It's how strong one's friendship is with another person. If you were friendship level 1 with someone, and something happened to that person, it probably won't affect you much. If you were friendship level 5 with the same person, and the same thing happened to that person, you'd be more heavily affected"

"So… if something happened to me like a 'shadow' appearing, would that shrine maiden, Reimu, be affected?"

"I don't know your relationship to her, so I can't say for sure, Kaguya-sama" Damion replied.

"I see; what about with me and Eirin?"

"I'm VERY sure that you'd be heavily affected by it if something happened to her, even more so if something bad happened to her in front of you"

"What do you mean by being affected?" Kaguya asked.

"It means changes will happen, for better or worse"

"Like?"

"If I killed Eirin in front of you in the most horrible and disgusting manner, you'd be scared and traumatized by the event. The feeling of helplessness adds to how badly affected you would be"

"Oh, that is pretty bad" Kaguya frowned.

"It's just a hypothetical, or made-up, example to help you get an idea of what I'm trying to say, Kaguya-sama"

"Oh, I thought you were really going to kill her"

"There's no way I'd kill my friends… ever again" Damion swore.

Then, Kaguya got up out of her seat and stood in front of the young man. He noticed her getting up, and looked down, thinking she was going to leave the room for something. However, things changed when he saw her in front of him.

Once in front of him, she bowed. "I'm sorry for yesterday's selfishness and stupidity!" Kaguya apologized.

This sudden apology was surprising to the necromancer.

"Huh? I thought you were going to go on and on about me being your 'servant' and having to do everything your heart desires…"

"No! That's what I thought back then, but I misunderstood the difference between friends and servants! I also didn't know the importance of others' emergencies" Kaguya interrupted.

"_Eirin-san, just WHAT did you say to her to make her understand something like the difference between servant and friends?_" Damion thought while he was trying to take in and process Kaguya's apology.

Damion sighed. "Apology accepted" He then pet Kaguya's head.

When he did, Kaguya blushed and quickly backed off.

"Wh-wh-what was that!" Kaguya asked him.

"Huh? You don't like that?" Damion asked her.

"It's just… just feels weird… to be touched like that" Kaguya admitted.

The necromancer explained, "It's one kind of praise, usually showing happiness, affection, or care for another"

Upon hearing the possible reasons for his action, she settled down and returned to her seat opposite side of Damion.

"So… you were talking about priorities yesterday?" Kaguya asked him.

"Oh, that. Priorities are the order of importance something is to an individual at a given time. For example, Reisen's priorities are to serve you and Eirin, taking care of Tewi, and delivering medicine to the human village"

"Those are her jobs, but what do they have to do with priorities?"

"I believe her first priority is serving you and Eirin because you and Eirin took in Reisen and she has the feeling of guilt to repay your hospitality. She can take care of you and Eirin even without a home to go back to or live in, so that's why it's first priority. Her next job, taking care of Tewi, is next priority because Tewi provided this place to you and Eirin, right?"

Kaguya nodded.

"The reason why it's next on priority is to maintain a good relationship with her to keep living here, I believe. Then, the next priority is delivering medicine to the human village, right?"

Again, the former Lunarian princess nodded.

"That's the next job on her priorities because she can't do that until she has taken care of Tewi AND is not needed by you or Eirin. Priorities are basically the order you take care of things. Emergencies are almost always first priority, then followed by basic needs, followed by the needs of others, and then on improving oneself as last priority" Damion lectured.

"Oh, so that incident last night was an emergency?" Kaguya asked.

"I'm afraid so. While you're high on my priority list, people's lives are my highest priority in helping to save, unless I'm needed by Death" the young man added.

"So, I'm one of the top priority for you?"

"_Only because Eirin keeps bugging me about teaching you the ways of the commoner_" Damion thought to himself. "Yeah, my friends are high on my priority list of things to think about. My own life pales in comparison to my friends, truth be told" Damion admitted.

Before things could continue, Kaguya frowned and pointed at a gap that just opened up behind the young man.

"Damn it, Yukari again!" Kaguya pointed out, as well as literally pointing at the gap to redirect the necromancer's attention.

When he looked, he was surprised to see Yukari halfway out of the gap, her top half is in the gap that is.

"Is it a 'shadow' again, Yukari?" Damion asked the gap youkai.

Yukari nodded 'no'. "It's not that; I thought you might want to know about some other parallel worlds of Gensokyo" Yukari offered.

"Other parallel worlds?" Damion asked the gap youkai.

"Yes, I even gossip with the other Yukari Yakumos from those parallel worlds" Yukari admitted.

"Parallel worlds?" Kaguya asked her.

"It's got nothing to do with you in this one, Kaguya-chan. I'm offering to let Damion know about some events in these parallel worlds… as my way of thanking him" Yukari scoffed.

"Alright. Might as well know, being a traveler of universes and realities"

"There are many parallel worlds other than the one we're in. Some of these parallel worlds have me, or the 'me' of those parallel worlds, bring in an outsider into Gensokyo. Some of the guys from those parallel worlds are either working on relationships with a girl or several, or trying to stop my tests for them in those parallel worlds" Yukari explained.

"Alright, I understand the concept of parallel worlds and how there's a different 'you' in each of them. Please continue" Damion replied. Sadly, Kaguya was already lost from the get-go in trying to understand the logic of parallel worlds.

"Some of the guys I brought in those other parallel worlds are either normal humans, or humans that have gained some powers of youkai. In one parallel world, I brought I guy named 'Chozen', who is really a being from a long time ago. In another, I brought in a guy named Akyris, who I had my friends assimilate him into some of my other friends' bodies for certain events. In another, I brought in a regular human named Ryan Randa, and he gained the power to convert energy. And in another, I bring in another regular human named Ikuto and give him a certain weapon from an all-too-popular game in the human world… wasn't it something about hearts and key shaped swords? There's also another parallel world where I brought in a guy named Shinki Katsura who is very different from what I've heard from the 'me' of that world has described. I believe that'll be enough for me to tell you about the parallel worlds I speak of" Yukari mentioned.

"_Yukari, you have just broken more walls than I can count, and certain walls I never imagined to be broken_" Damion thought to himself.

"What did she just say?" Kaguya asked the necromancer.

"I don't think you'll be able to understand any of it, but it's like saying there are other Gensokyos with the same exact people, under different circumstances or events" Damion summarized for her.

Yukari was impressed that he summarized what she explained in one sentence.

"So, there's a me in all those other Gensokyos?" Kaguya asked him.

"Precisely, but it's complicated to understand" Damion answered.

"Then, how did you know what it all meant?" Kaguya asked again.

"Think of it this way: There's a Gensokyo for EVERY action, thought, or event that happens. If you act one way, there's a Gensokyo future for that action and beyond. If you choose a different event, thought, or action, there's going to be a Gensokyo future for that too" Damion explained.

"All I did was tell you a little about these different Gensokyos that you aren't part of, Damion" Yukari added.

"It ain't much of help, but at least I now know that I'm not the only one you bothered to bring to Gensokyo" Damion chuckled.

"You're quite welcome, and now I can say we're even…"

"Not quite, I still need your help to keep an eye out for 'Shadow' attacks; I can't patrol ALL of Gensokyo and be there whenever a 'Shadow' decides to attack someone" the young man interrupted.

"Tch, I thought I'd be able to get out of that one" Yukari grumbled.

"Look, I'm not asking for you to create a miracle; I'm just asking you to keep an eye on everyone in case you find a 'Shadow' of someone, alert me of a 'Shadow', and help me get to wherever it happens"

"Using my power for your own sake is rather unforgivable"

"It's not for MY sake; it's for the sake of the people here in Gensokyo. They won't know how to deal with these 'shadows' without the help of someone who knows how to deal with them, and who can fend off an attack from a berserk 'shadow' if the situation calls for it" Damion reminded the gap youkai.

"Well then, how about Chen?" Yukari asked.

"She won't be ready for at least six days. Even then, I need to teach her how to summon and control her Persona. Also, her Persona, Nekomata, is relatively weak in stats, so I'm going to have to figure out how to get her Persona to be efficient in battle" Damion replied.

"Tch, it's always complicated with you and these 'shadows' and Personas! Why can't things be simple!" Yukari yelled at him.

"Believe me, I wish it was simple enough, but the only 'simple' explanation is that you need a similar power as they do to fight them. Rather, you need to 'earn' that power when the time comes" he added.

"I could probably just cut the gap between myself and that wretched power you call 'Persona' and take care of these 'shadow' things myself" Yukari exclaimed before doing exactly just that.

The gap youkai focused her powers on herself and the concept of 'Persona' itself. In Yukari's mind, her focus was the concept of the Persona that she imagined based on the battle she witnessed from the sideline. Taking the concept of 'Persona' that she saw, she tried to achieve that power by forcing herself to obtain it.

Sadly, this effort was unsuccessful. Yukari only ended up making herself look like an idiot for trying to force something to happen.

"I don't feel anything like a 'Persona' or a 'Shadow' of you, Yukari-san" Damion said to her.

"Wha! Why did YOU and Chen get that power of 'Persona'? I should've also gotten that power too!" Yukari complained.

The necromancer folded his arms and sighed.

"If you were paying attention before, you need a strong mind, will, and belief. Once that's accomplished, then you wait until your 'shadow' comes to confront you. When that happens, I'm afraid I don't know yet" Damion answered her.

Yukari was somewhat peeved at hearing this. Rather, she was impatient in getting the same power as him.

"Alright, so how do I get a strong mind, will, and belief?" the gap youkai asked. She sounded somewhat desperate to get this power.

"It's like this; you need to be mentally strong, unshakable will, and firm beliefs in what you believe in. Personas are actually 'shadows' that are tamed by its original by simply wholly, truthfully, and without hesitation, accepting them as another part of you" Damion reminded her.

"I heard what happened to Chen, and I believe she was strong enough to put the past behind her, her will to live rested on Ran-san's kindness, and she believed in Ran strongly. Perhaps the reason had to do with those three things faltering" Kaguya added.

At this point, Yukari gave up trying to understand what they were saying. "Damn it! Give me a straight answer!"

Damion sighed. "Simply put, you wait for your 'shadow' to come to you"

This answer, to Yukari, made the most sense and was easy to understand. "It's about time you talk simple terms with me; I was getting annoyed with those philosophical and theories on whatever those 'shadows' and Personas were" she muttered to him.

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about? I'm kind of busy teaching Kaguya-sama something important about life" Damion said to Yukari as though trying to dismiss her.

"Oh, could this 'something important about life' be referring to perverted things?" Yukari teased.

Kaguya blushed heavily upon hearing the tease, but Damion grew angry.

"For fuck's sake, why is everyone out to make me a pervert!" the necromancer yelled aloud.

Yukari just giggled, while Kaguya was at a loss for words. "Fufufufu. Gensokyo is predominantly female with only a handful of males, and almost all of the males in Gensokyo are humans that are perverts. It's only logical to assume you are also among the perverted males" Yukari teased again.

The young man couldn't argue with that logic, as the gap youkai had some credible, but questionable statistics.

"If that's true, then you're probably right… assuming you know all the males in person" Damion replied.

"In person? Why would I go through the trouble to get to know the few male humans in Gensokyo?" Yukari asked.

"I'm asking if what you say about the males being perverts is true… by asking if you knew them in person" Damion countered.

"I find it hard to believe that men AREN'T perverts from what I've heard online" Kaguya muttered.

"See? Even the former princess agrees with me on…" Yukari began, but…

"If that's the case, then you've only heard about the stereotype about men" the necromancer interrupted, "but stereotypes aren't absolute truths; they're a general statement about one group of people as depicted by few and popularized by many"

"Oh, so you HAVE done your homework" Yukari commented.

"Of course, psychology also includes the study of why certain concepts are easily accepted by people by understanding the way the mind processes the information…"

"You and those tiny details and relating everything to psychology. Is there ANYTHING you can't use psychology for?" Yukari interrupted.

"It's hard for me to say if there's anything that psychology doesn't cover, but the term 'psychology' is vague since it covers the way the mind and body react to one another to perform actions or think thoughts certain ways" Damion added.

"Oh, really? Then is psychology, perhaps, an excuse you made to try and hide the fact that you're really a mind-reader like Satori and can manipulate us through subconscious like Koishii?" Yukari asked, losing her patience.

"Listen, I haven't met those two to evaluate their powers. From my perspective, I can only guess their power is supernatural by human standards whereas psychology is a scientific but not perfect method of a similar concept, save for the manipulation of subconscious" Damion replied.

"Simple language, please" Kaguya and Yukari told him together.

"Psychology is a science humans study whereas Satori's and Koishii's powers are supernatural by human standards. Humans are incapable of controlling another subconsciously, or able to completely read another's mind" Damion summarized.

"Okay, now I need to ask how you knew Chen's problem" Yukari asked.

"I learned the story from 'scan'-ing 'Shadow' Chen. I know the 'scan' spell thanks to Reimu-san, and I would never have guessed what was really bothering her if it wasn't for that spell" Damion admitted.

"So, you plan to learn everyone's problem with that spell?"

"It doesn't tell me what's bothering them; only battle data and some info on them"

"Oh, then you tell me what my past is by using the 'scan' spell on me" Yukari said to him.

This sudden request caught him off guard.

"Whoah, hold on there. You're telling me to 'scan' you? I don't use 'scan' unless I'm in a battle of life-or-death to help me…"

"JUST DO IT!"

Damion sighed in defeat. The necromancer did as told and cast the spell he was told to.

Various information became clear to the young man about Yukari Yakumo; Her battle level is WAY too high for Damion to handle at this time (about level 40). She excels in offensive magic and void (Gap) skills. Despite her outstanding offensive magic and gap skills, her other stats are less than average, especially a TERRIBLE physical defense stat. She does not know any instant death spells, but her gap skills can potentially be one if she thinks about how to use it to tear apart her victims from the inside. In addition to her powers, she can extend one's lifespan by temporarily cutting the border between life and death, though that's a privilege she offers to those she deems worthy.

"So, what about my past did you find out?" Yukari asked him.

"Nothing related to your past, I'm afraid. Only combat data was analyzed, Yukari-san" the young man reported.

"Why would you want him to find out about your past, Yukari?" Kaguya asked the gap youkai.

"That's something I'd like to know myself" Damion added.

"It was merely a test to find out the extent of his 'scan' spell. He was able to identify exactly what was Chen's problem and resolve it…"

"Actually, 'Shadow' Chen was talking about her problems to her original in between the truths she was making her original face. When I scanned the 'shadow', I found out about her past as well as combat data. It might be that I learned her past from…"

"Don't you dare use complicated words" Yukari interrupted, threatening him.

"It could be that… it was her 'shadow' that I scanned… that was the… embodiment… of her past… and that past… was the data… I learned when I scanned her" Damion explained, stopping himself between phrases to reduce the complicated words to easily understandable terms for normal people.

"So… it was her 'shadow' that told you her problem?"

"More like her 'shadow' had her past mixed in with her combat data. Even after beating 'Shadow' Chen, the 'shadow' kept going on about Chen's real problems"

"Tch, and here I was telling myself that you were really a youkai that could read minds and resolve all incidents under the pretense of using 'psych-whatever' as an excuse without explaining what it was" Yukari muttered.

"Hello… Psychology is an area of science that humans study to better understand one another… by studying HOW the mind and body work together, WHY people think a certain way, and WHAT makes people do the things they do" Damion added, "I've been telling people of Gensokyo that whenever I tell them about psychology"

Once again, Yukari clicked her tongue at this. "Then tell us, using simple words, HOW does the mind and body work, WHY people think a certain way, and WHAT makes people do the things they do"

"I'm not an expert on the subject like some humans are, but I can say that the HOW part goes back to the mind 'telling' the body what to do for it, and the body's reflexes sometimes acting without the mind's permission. The WHY refers to motivation, like what purpose would someone do something. The WHAT is the method and why that method was used"

"Just barely understandable" Yukari commented.

"I'm still confused" Kaguya complained.

"Think of the WHY as the reason for me doing something. Humans from the human world usually work or steal to get money. Of course, money is a key part of humans' lives in the human world. HOW the humans make money varies. Some methods are okay while others like stealing is not okay. I'm not exactly sure how to explain the WHAT part with humans as the example"

"I now understand most of this psychology, but how, exactly, does it work?" Yukari asked.

"Which part of the field of psychology are you asking about?" Damion asked her.

"DAMN IT! I thought psychology was the most common term for humans reading another's mind" Yukari complained.

"As I said before, it's a vague word for the study of how the mind works. There's criminal psychology that studies how and why bad humans do things that human society condemns, cognitive psychology which studies how a person thinks, Positive psychology that deals with how and what makes people happy or optimistic…"

"ENOUGH! Just tell me the one that dealt with a person's problems!" Yukari interrupted.

"I believe that one is clinical psychology, which is helping a person feel better about themselves through… getting involved or helping to make changes… though the use of medicine helps to… keep people from feeling depressed or worthless" Damion explained, using simple terminology again.

"Oh, then Eirin should also be able to use this 'clinical' psych-whatever to help her patients, right?" Kaguya asked.

"That's assuming she knows how medicine relates to mental health and stuff like mental illnesses" the necromancer added.

By now, the gap youkai was beginning to get annoyed with all these details that he's giving.

"Is there anything in that 'psycho-whatever' that's easy to understand!" Yukari yelled. She wasn't understanding everything that was being told, and that was upsetting her.

"Psychology, as well as human sciences are not easy to understand by regular people; it's best understood by people that have been trained to study these things. Explaining them to your average person is hard enough, but to a youkai that has little-to-no knowledge on humans is even more difficult" Damion commented.

"Then teach us about what we need to know about this psychology thing" Kaguya asked.

"Kaguya-sama, there are more important things to worry about than psychology; Eirin-san asked me to teach you specific things, and I don't think it'd be wise to agitate her" the young man replied to the former Lunarian princess.

"Geez, and I thought you'd be willing to do ANYTHING I ask of you" Kaguya complained.

"Friends don't just do anything they're asked; friends have their own lives to live and their own needs to take care of" Damion added.

"Oh, I thought you were teaching her lecherous things for your own benefit" Yukari teased again.

Damion face-palmed in disbelief. To make things worse, Kaguya began giggling in response to his response to Yukari's teasing.

"I'll be sure to figure this all out next time, since it's almost sunset and almost time for you to get back to your home in the human village" Yukari said to him.

Then, Yukari retreated into the gap she came in and closed said gap behind her.

What she said about the time close to sunset was true.

"Damn it, it's just about time for me to get back to the human village" Damion said to the former Lunarian princess with some hint of regret in his voice.

Of course, it was partially his fault for coming late to teach Kaguya about life outside her sheltered, spoiled lifestyle she was used to. The other part of his short stay and teaching was due to Yukari's interrupting the lessons.

"Why don't you stay over for the night?" Kaguya offered.

"Huh? Spend the night here? I don't think Eirin-san would approve of that…"

"He's right, I can't approve of him staying here" came Eirin's voice from behind the door to the room. Actually, Eirin objected to this as she came in.

"Why not?" Kaguya asked the pharmacist.

"I don't really trust him near you, Kaguya-sama, in the nighttime when I can't supervise and keep you safe" Eirin replied.

"Geez, I'd be screaming if he made a move towards me _in THAT way_, Eirin" Kaguya tried to negotiate.

"My answer is still 'no'" Eirin clearly didn't want him spending the night with her or near her. The reason for this would probably be fear of him being perverted towards the former Lunarian princess.

"It's alright. I'll head back to the human village now. If I'm still needed, then Kaguya can send Reisen Udongein Inaba to get me" Damion said to the arguing girls.

"That's fine by me" Eirin said. She was glad he was co-operative to follow directions.

"Oh, I met this Lunarian who was dressed similar to Reisen, and even called herself Reisen. I'm not sure if she was a relative of Reisen Udongein Inaba or some spy, but I thought I'd ask anyway" Damion asked.

"Huh? Did you mistake some earth rabbit for Reisen?"

"No, she was wearing a similar outfit to Reisen Inaba's, and she was looking for Kaguya-sama"

"I see… If you see her again, keep this place a secret from her or anyone from the Lunarian capital. I fear they're going to comb Gensokyo looking for us" Eirin said to him sternly.

"Ah, alright. I'd hate to get involved in some Lunarian affair I'm not officially involved in"

"Officially?"

"I'd need an excuse to get involved in Lunarian businesses. I can only keep this place secret, but I need a legitimate excuse to get involved in Lunarian affairs" Damion added.

"I thought you were the type to stick your nose in everything that comes your way"

"Sometimes, but not Lunarians since I know only they're a civilization on the moon whose princess escaped to here and is living in secrecy from them with the brains of their society. Other than that, I'm not sure I'm even allowed to get involved in this matter"

"If push comes to shove, tell them I got you involved since you have completed her five impossible tasks and became her fiancé" Eirin told him.

"Tell them a lie? I don't think they'll fall for something weak like that"

"Then prove your strength by fighting them. If you take down the captains of the Lunarian Defense corps, the Wakatsuki sisters, then that should be another way to convince them of this lie"

This alternative that Eirin told Damion took the necromancer by surprise.

"Hold on, are you telling me to take on the entire Lunar Defense Corps? That's quite difficult, if not impossible at this time with my Persona powers as they are right now"

"Relax, I was just saying that's one way to prove to them that this excuse is legitimate" Eirin teased.

Hearing this, Damion turned to leave the room.

"I don't have a legitimate reason to get involved, but I promise I won't tell them about this place" the necromancer promised.

"Be back here tomorrow, that's an order!" Kaguya demanded.

Damion chuckled at this. "Alright, I can try, but 'Shadows' come first" the young man said to them.

"Try to be here by at least 9 in the morning. Kaguya-sama was worried you were killed or eaten" Eirin whispered to the necromancer.

"She what!" Damion screamed.

Now Kaguya was upset at Eirin for her statement. Rather, she wanted that fact to remain secret.

"Ah, you didn't hear anything" Kaguya said to him, trying to dispel Eirin's comment.

Sadly, it didn't work. He heard the former princess's worry and wasn't about to let it simply be passed off as 'did not hear anything'.

"Sure, I'll try to get back here around that time if I can" he said before leaving the mansion for real this time.

* * *

><p>Outside, he met Reisen Udongein Inaba chatting with Fujiwara no Mokou.<p>

The girls were talking gossiping about an incident that was happening near the human village. The details weren't clear, but the rumor was that Reimu Hakurei, Youmu Konpaku, Sanae Kochiya, and Marisa Kirisame were out resolving a new incident.

"So, what are you two talking about?" Damion called to them.

The former Lunarian and the immortal stopped their gossip to turn to the necromancer.

"It's just some incident that popped up recently. There's some kind of mausoleum appeared recently and something big is about to happen unless someone stops it" Reisen Inaba told him.

"An incident?"

"The mausoleum appeared two weeks ago, and people were too afraid to check it out. It's only now that there were some strange phenomena that was about to happen" Mokou added.

"I heard Reimu-san and Marisa-san went to check it out, but who were Sanae-san and Youmu-san?" the young man asked them.

Reisen Inaba answered the question for Mokou. "Sanae Kochiya is a shrine maiden, like Reimu, but manages the Moriya shrine at the top of Youkai Mountain. Youmu Konpaku is a half-ghost half-human youkai that serves Yuyuko Saigyouji, a ghost"

"They're nice people to hang out with, but I'd be careful of Youmu; she's skilled with her katanas" Mokou added.

"Alright. Sounds like Reimu, Sanae, Marisa, and Youmu have that covered. I, on the other hand, have my own agenda to deal with. Namely, Kaguya-san" the young man said to them.

"Why are you using 'san' at the end of her name? I thought you always addressed her as 'sama'. Reisen Inaba asked him sternly. She was somewhat peeved at the incorrect honorific use.

"She and I are only acquaintances, and not in a relationship. From what Keine taught me about honorifics, using 'chan' signified intimacy or closeness. Our relationship is simply student-mentor with me teaching her about the other side of life she hasn't experienced yet" Damion told Reisen Inaba and Mokou.

"Huh? I thought you and Kaguya-sama were best of friends by now" Reisen Inaba muttered.

"Trust me, I wish I could get to know her personally, but I can't until Eirin allows it. Besides, there's another Reisen out there that I think is just some impersonator and…"

"Wait, another Reisen!" Reisen Inaba interrupted.

"No, it wasn't a 'shadow'. The 'shadows' only appear in front of their original" he added.

"There's one thing you need to know about the Lunar Defense Corps tradition; the one who is a 'pet' of sorts to the commanders is given the name 'Reisen'. Most of the Lunarians have names, but those that enter the Lunar Defense Corps lose their names. Earning the name 'Reisen' depends on the commanders, and there can only be one 'Reisen'" Reisen Inaba told him.

"Huh? Is that other 'Reisen' some kind of successor to you or something?" he asked the former Lunarian.

"No, I believe I've been replaced. That new 'Reisen' coming here must mean that… perhaps they are searching here for the princess!" Reisen Inaba said, somewhat panicking now.

"Relax, that faker just jumped into a gap back to who-knows-where, probably back to her commander on that Lunarian place"

"Are you saying Yukari is involved!"

"I don't think so; Yukari's gaps are purple with those creepy yellow eyes; the gap that the fake Reisen went into was pitch black with stars in the background"

Hearing the difference, Reisen Inaba had a bad feeling about this.

"That gap you described… I think it was a Lunar Veil used by the Lunarian military to move from the capital directly to the earth" Reisen Inaba informed them.

"Lunar Veil? It sounds different from what I thought it did, which was some kind of invisibility shield or something" Damion commented.

Reisen's feeling of worry was showing now. "If those Watatsuki sisters come here, it'll probably be all over for you and for us"

"Are they really THAT strong, those sisters?" Damion asked, both in fear and excitement.

"I'd guess they're probably as strong as Yukari Yakumo, more or less" Reisen Inaba estimated.

"What! Are you sure about that!" he screamed.

"Look, I don't know much about the Lunarians, but I'm sure they're bad news for that… bitch" Mokou muttered.

"It's best you don't get involved in Lunarian affairs; those Watatsuki sisters are both fast and knowledgeable in more things than humans know about" Reisen Inaba added.

"Sheesh, I've got my work cut out for me if I'm even going to consider going up against them" the necromancer complained.

"If they sent that new 'Reisen' here, then they're probably scouting places looking for Kaguya-sama" Reisen Inaba muttered.

"Seriously? Now I've really got to develop my Persona power fast, even catch up to **HIM** soon" the necromancer muttered

"Him? Who's this 'him' person?" Mokou and Reisen Inaba asked.

"A friend I was to protect some time ago… until that fateful day in another world. He was like a brother to me, but he had to play the hero with the one person I could consider calling my girlfriend…"

"WHAT! You had a girlfriend!" the two girls screamed.

"I said I COULD consider, but we were never officially a couple. She also had to play the hero to save everyone's lives" Damion muttered. This time, memories of the one he could've loved made him shed tears.

Seeing the tears told the girls that something terrible happened between them.

"Sorry you had to see me like this… but she was… one person I wished I could love" he added, trying to apologize for not being calm and collected.

"Who was she, and how was it that she won your heart?" Mokou asked him out of curiosity.

"Oh, her? I can't say her name without remembering the last moment I spent with her before she went limp" he said, trying without success to hold back his tears.

Then, Mokou did something unexpected; she was the one to hug him.

"Just like how you were there for Keine, I'm here for you" she whispered in his hear.

The necromancer wasn't sure how to respond to her support. Rather, his tears from remembering her die in his arms was, perhaps, a little much for him to handle.

"Relax, and let ME be your support for once. There's no need for you to shoulder the responsibility of helping everyone by yourself" Fujiwara no Mokou told him softly.

By now, he gave up and let her be his 'support' for the moment.

"Alright" he muttered as he now returned the hug. He was still crying over the loss of his (almost) girlfriend from an earlier world he's been to.

It felt like ten minutes before he let go and stopped crying.

"Feeling better now?" Mokou asked when he let go of her.

He nodded and wiped the tears off his face. "Thanks for the support, Mokou"

"I, uh, better get back to Eirin before she makes me test some new shady drug" Reisen said to excuse herself.

Once she let herself away from the two of them (Mostly due to her mistaking their interaction with one another for a romantic moment), she entered Eientei.

The necromancer, once done crying, released himself from Mokou's hug and wiped the last of his tears off.

"Feeling better yet?" she asked him.

"Yeah, thanks… I often forget that I need support from my friends once in a while after giving that support" he said softly.

"Well then, you can talk with me along the way back to the human village about your progress thus far" Mokou said to him.

* * *

><p>Along the path back to the human village, Damion gave her the bad news on Yukari interrupting with unrelated news (He kept the entire conversation with Yukari about parallel worlds a secret) and practically took up all the time he was supposed to spend tutoring Kaguya for herself.<p>

"Sheesh, I never understand that hag or why she must interrupt everything that catches her attention" Mokou muttered with annoyance.

"Truth be told, some of the things she talked with me about caught my interest, like events from other worlds or theories she overheard from the human world regarding space-time travel. Despite all that, she could've saved that for when I'm not busy with Kaguya-san or too tired at night" the young man replied.

"Space-time travel?" Mokou asked him.

"I'm not an expert, but it's supposedly impossible by scientific methods so far. She was telling me her power was similar to travelling between spaces as in areas, like portals" he lied. He can't tell her or anyone else (Kaguya still didn't know enough to grasp the concept) about the parallel worlds.

"Portals?" Mokou asked him.

"Portals are like a gate between one place and another. You step into it, and you come out of another 'gate' in a different location… for you to understand this, it'd be like stepping into a new gate built at the entrance to the bamboo forest of the lost. Then, building another 'gate' at Eientei, you create a connected path for the portal… once you step into the 'gate' portal from the entrance to the bamboo forest of the lost, you will instantly exit at the entrance to Eientei… does that make sense?" he asked to clarify the details.

"It makes SOME sense, but I don't get why Yukari would explain how her power works to you like that" Mokou asked.

"When it comes to Yukari, I don't have the slightest clue what the hell is going on in her mind" he continued this charade to avoid talking about the parallel worlds.

"So, did you manage to teach… her… anything useful?"

"She learned the difference between friends and servants, thanks to some unexpected help from Eirin when I wasn't there, and she's still learning about priorities. She almost learned the concept of priorities, but that was when Yukari butted in and made gossip with me" Damion reported.

"I see, that DOES sound good, even if it is small" the phoenix-flame user said with a breath of relief.

"_Hopefully, she'll come to her senses and realize her mistakes and how one action can affect many people_" Mokou thought to herself.

"_Truth be told, I hope Kaguya learns these things fast, because I don't know when I'll be leaving, or if I'm needed in another world_" the young man thought to himself.

"So… what power did you have other than that 'Persona' power? I heard from Keine that it was evil" Mokou asked, changing the subject.

"Oh… that? I told her about knowing darkness spell, but I don't think that really qualifies as evil if there's a youkai, like Rumia, who uses that power for hunting"

"Darkness magic huh? I thought Rumia was the only one who could use it"

"That's what I also thought, but my power is limited to using it as offensive magic. If I could use it similar to Rumia, then I'd probably be able to cover my enemies in darkness, effectively blinding them, and giving myself an advantage in battle"

"But… you can't, right?"

"Yeah, I'll just stick with offensive magic and leave my Personas to be my support for now… until I figure out a better system with my magic options" he muttered.

"Have you tried focusing your magic into danmaku?"

"Danmaku? You mean magic bullets? I'll pass on that, since I have no clue as to the rules of that system"

"Why not?"

"I'm a traveler by nature, and the rules of one place may not apply to the rules of another"

"Oh, so that's why you don't want to learn danmaku" she sighed, frowning.

"Sorry, but I don't think I'll be here long enough to make use of Danmaku, and I don't think danmaku might be used in other places I travel to" he admitted.

"What do you mean? It's nearly impossible to leave Gensokyo and return to the human world. Only Yukari can get you out, and only if you miraculously convince her to do so" she added.

"Sheesh, I kind of wonder what I'm even doing here now…"

"You don't need to think about what you're doing here… just live the way you want, help out from time to time, and just be yourself" Mokou interrupted.

Before the conversation could continue, a gap opened up in front of the traveling humans. Naturally, it was Yukari.

"This time, there are a few shadows" Yukari said to the necromancer sternly.

"The hell! Another one already! Mokou complained, also surprised at Yukari's sudden appearance.

"Alright, who and where is the trouble?" the young man asked, half pumped and ready, half-tired.

Yukari gave him the details; a new area appeared, and some new faces popped into Gensokyo. Reimu, Marisa, Sanae, and Youmu are already resolving the incident, but are faced with the 'shadows'. The rumors that Reisen and Mokou were talking about were true, and worse.

"Sheesh, I hope I can get this over with soon, as I really need to sort things out for Kaguya-san to understand tomorrow…"

"Worry about that later, those four that are resolving the incident are having trouble against the first 'shadow'. Do you need Ran's help?" Yukari offered.

"That depends on the other three resolving the incident. Just get me there and I'll take care of the shadow mooks" he said to Yukari before turning to Mokou. "Mokou, tell Keine I'm out hunting some of those 'shadows' I've told her about; I'll probably return late, if not the next morning"

Fujiwara no Mokou nodded in acknowledgement, and ran straight for the human village. The necromancer, on the other hand, followed Yukari into her gap.

"One other thing; I heard from your current 'boss' more about you. You're a necromancer, aren't you?" Yukari asked.

"A necromancer huh? That MIGHT explain why I was able to summon death or use that darkness spell before" he answered.

"Here, let's fix that memory loss and forgotten power before I send you there; there's one particular enemy I'd like to see you take control of, perhaps even force her to be recruited from her current master" Yukari said before putting one hand on the necromancer's head.

She focused some power on the gap between his real magic ability, and cut that 'gap'. This unlocked his forgotten ability of controlling the physically dead.

"Why go this far to help me remember a power I once had?" he asked.

"NOW we're even. You saved Chen, now I'm returning a power you forgot. This better be fair, as I hate being indebted" Yukari made her point.

Damion was unable to find a flaw in this fair exchange, so he let it go at that. "Fair enough, though I still ask that you keep me informed about 'shadow' sightings"

Yukari nodded. With this, Yukari's debt to him was cleared.

"Normally, you'd start at the beginning of the events and incidents, but I'll just send you to where the problem is" she added.

Opening a gap into the unknown, Yukari practically shoved the young man into the newly opened gap.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER<p>

(P.S. Starting on stage 3 of 10 Desires stage, roughly speaking, at the graveyard. This will be the start of the 'dungeon'. Yes, I plan to turn Ten Desires into a Persona 4 esque scenario, with key events like each stage being a part of the dungeon, each few 'floors' representing a stage with a sub-boss at the end of each 'stage')

(P.P.S. Yes, a few shout-outs to several stories are mentioned. Characters referenced from other stories belong to their respective owners)


	7. Ten Desires Shadow Seiga

DISCLAIMER: I don't own a thing except my OCs.

Author's note: As said in my previous chapters, I'm writing while keeping in mind that potential readers MIGHT be new to the other series… like a Touhou fan being new to Persona series, and vice versa. Don't hold it against me for making some points obvious like spells or enemy descriptions. Also, generally speaking, MOST shadows of the same type (Regular shadow enemies) are pallet swaps of one another, but the mask usually differentiates their strength/weakness properties.

Author's note 2: Thanks to the update on the wiki, I now have enough info to create a (slightly deviated) backstory to Seiga Kaku and give her a legitimate problem.

* * *

><p>~~ Graveyard ~~<p>

Exiting a gap from mid-air, he literally dropped down to the ground. He looked around to get an idea of where he was, and he saw the human village walls not too far away from where he was. The thing that was noticeable after the human village was a temple of sorts that was closer to him than the human village. From this distance, it looked like it was a short walk from the village to the temple.

"Huh? The problem was near the human village and some… shrine-like temple?" he asked himself. He then entered the graveyard.

Inside, several 'shadows' that Damion was all-too-familiar with were littered around.

"Heh, so I guess those days aren't over yet" Damion chuckled nostalgically.

~~ 1st floor ~~

The young man sprinted forward into the graveyard, but came across a group of mooks upon reaching the first turn.

The shadow group itself was a group of three Cowardly Maya and a Magic Hand (Cowardly Maya are basically black slimes with a blue neutral face mask on them, whereas Cowardly Maya are animated gloves with a black 'head' with a blue neutral face mask. Both shadows are of the Magician Arcana. The masks obviously represent the arcana the enemies are attributed to).

"Heh, those weaklings? I remember them from the first floors of Tartarus" the necromancer thought to himself as nostalgia flowed back to him. "_Of course, my only Persona back then was Castor, and it was a physical based Persona without resistances or weaknesses_"

* * *

><p>~~ Outside the human village ~~<p>

Fujiwara no Mokou has just informed Keine Kamishirasawa about the report of 'shadows' and the urgent need for him to investigate.

"I see… Perhaps this might take his mind off his troubles for a while" Keine muttered.

"Actually, he got over that issue with help from Wriggle, of all youkai" Mokou added.

"Wriggle! You mean Wriggle Nightbug who hangs out with that group of childish misfits? That is most unexpected" Keine commented.

"So, did you get any info on this new 'shadow' thing?" Keine asked her friend.

"I don't know whether it relates to the rumor of a new location that popped up out of nowhere, but I hope that's not the case"

"Why so?"

"We don't know anything about it, and there is gossip of an undead army in there. Last I heard, the usual two are checking out the rumor, as well as Sanae Kochiya, with Youmu Konpaku for back-up" Mokou told her.

"Huh, if he's been roped into it, then perhaps, that new place might be related to that world he's been to"

"Are you serious? There was no mention of a mausoleum in his story of the world with that huge tower and those 'shadows'"

"Oh, I see, perhaps he left out a mausoleum because someone he knew was buried in one" Keine speculated.

"I don't think that's the case, Keine"

"Oh, then what do you suspect it is?"

"I just hope it isn't a repeat of any terrible memories he might have" Mokou said with worry.

"Hm… perhaps you are starting to 'like' like him, more than a friend" Keine teased.

Mokou's face turned redder than her fiercest phoenix flame, and she was caught completely off-guard by this tease.

"K-k-k-Keine! We're not like that!" Mokou stuttered, trying to regain her composure.

"Oh, was I mistaken? I thought you two would've at least held hands by now" Keine continued teasing.

"Geez, we're just friends, Keine. I've confided my worries in him, and he's confided in me. I'm just… not ready to try for love just yet. He's mortal, and I'm immortal… I don't think it'll work between us as I'll just out-live him" Mokou made her point.

"Still, what's there in stopping you from spending what little time you have with him all to yourself? Who knows, you might end up marrying him" Keine still continued her tease.

Mokou was getting redder and redder with each tease, and it was starting to annoy her. "JUST STOP IT, KEINE! We're not going THAT far anytime soon!"

"_Such innocence, I wonder if making them meet was the right thing to do. Mokou, you know I want you to be happy, and I saw him as someone with a power to protect you. Please realize this soon_" Keine thought to herself.

"Alright then, why do you not want to become more than just friends with him, BESIDES the mortality/immortality issue?" Keine asked her friend.

This question caught Mokou off-guard for a moment, and she needed another to come up with another excuse. "Hm… I guess, perhaps, it's because he's a traveler that doesn't stop?"

"That's not a good enough excuse, Mokou. If you really value him as a friend, or maybe more, you need to tell him your feelings soon. Who knows when he'll learn about romance and fall in love with someone else?" Keine said to Mokou somewhat sternly.

This sudden demand made Mokou flinch.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-WHAT! Are you telling me… to try and get to know him intimately!" Mokou stuttered again.

"Mokou, you know I want the best for you, and there's something about his power that I feel can help you in the future… perhaps when YOU need the most help"

"Keine… why did you even get us to meet?"

"Truth be told, I'm worried about those 'shadow' things attacking you, and I know from experience that those things are dangerous to those without certain requirements"

"What requirements? I'm immortal, isn't that enough for you not to worry?" Mokou asked in confusion.

"It's not that; even though you're immortal, physically, you are not immortal, mentally"

"Mentally?"

"Remember what he told you about those 'shadow' things being part of your mind and personality?"

Mokou nodded.

"If your personality, which is connected to your Persona, is eaten or killed by those 'shadows', then so does your Personality, and you'll just be an immortal human with no will to do anything, not even taking care of yourself!" Keine shouted this time.

"What!" Mokou yelled in shock.

* * *

><p>~~ Back at 1st floor, graveyard ~~<p>

Two of the 'shadows' were taken down, both downed enemies were Cowardly Maya.

"Sheesh, I remember those enemies being weak to fire, but I don't have any Personas that can use Agi skills" he muttered to himself as he brought his Evoker to his head again.

Once again, his current Persona, Izanagi, emerged from inside him to get ready for battle.

"_Cleave_"

The robe-clad manifestation of his emotions given physical form nodded in response to the order, and flew straight at the enemy 'shadow'. Once it was in range, the Persona used its bladed pole weapon to slash the Cowardly Maya shadow into pieces. Suffice to say, the shadow was strong enough to endure the attack, but just barely. The Persona, on the other hand, returned to inside its owner's body.

The Cowardly Maya shadow retaliated by squirming up to the young man and tackling him. The Magic Hand shadow, then used its body to make the 'snap' gesture to cast a spell. Said spell was simply encasing of one of Damion's body parts in ice, which then broke. The spell was a Bufu (weak Ice spell) skill.

Then came the young man's turn again. This time, his course of action against the enemies were to make a direct attack on the weakened Cowardly Maya. He ran up close and gave the Maya type shadow a kick to the mask. The shadow, upon being defeated, exploded in a pool of shadowy darkness.

The Magic Hand shadow 'ran' up to the necromancer, and raised itself a little above him. Once above the target, he opened it's 'palm' and slammed itself into the young man for a 'strike' attack.

The necromancer reacted by pulling out his Evoker, pointing said device at his head, and pulled the trigger in a glass-shattering gunshot. The Persona emerged from his body again, and the Persona awaited its order.

"_Cleave_"

Upon being told its command, the Persona got to work by slashing its enemy with its pole-blade weapon. The attack was a weak slash type physical attack, but it managed to do a lot of damage to the shadow.

In retaliation, the Hand type shadow made the 'snap' gesture with its body to cast another Bufu (weak Ice skill) spell. The ice type skill encased another body part in ice, broke, and left behind a fair bit of damage.

"_If it weren't for my low endurance with these Personas, I'd be able to take a lot more hits, but… damn_" he thought to himself as he took the skill in full force (He's down to about half health left).

He knew the shadow was about to go down, and he knew it. One last attack should take care of it, and he knows that just about any attack will take it down. Knowing this, he went for a head-on attack with his feet and fists. Running up to the shadow, he gave it a quick kick with his right foot. Like the shadows before it, the defeated shadow exploded in a blast of darkness.

"_Phew, that group is down, but now I need to get my health back up before I take on another group_" the young man thought to himself.

Changing his current Persona, he swapped it with another he had stored in the back of his mind. This new Persona was Unicorn (That's the Persona's name, AND what it really looks like). Pulling out his Evoker after switching Personas, he 'shot' himself in the head to summon the newly assigned Persona.

"_Dia_"

The (literal) Unicorn Persona acknowledged its order and jumped to stand on its hind legs and land back down. Doing so gathered some magic into its single horn, and the Persona released that magic towards its user.

The spell healed a little bit of damage he took, but not all of it (Dia is a healing skill that heals around 55 HP, but heals more if the Persona has a higher magic stat or a support skill that doubles healing potency of skills).

He repeated this twice, and all the damage he took before was now gone.

He thought about exploring the graveyard for a while to see who died, but he knew that every moment counts right now.

The necromancer turned the corner, took a left at the next fifteen graves ahead, and ran smack into another group of shadows. The group of shadows this time was a Cowardly Maya and a Magic Hand.

* * *

><p>~~ Unknown Location ~~<p>

"…and that's what I believed happened to her" the voice belonged to Yukari Yakumo

"Who the hell would do such a thing to the princess!"

"Relax, I'm just saying you might want to investigate this newcomer. I don't know whether or not he's a threat to her, a perverted bastard, some random person seeking her hand in marriage, or just some average Joe that met her by mistake, but I'd say the princess might be in danger for all we know" Yukari added.

"Say WHAT! Nobody soils the purity of the princess any further than she already is!" Yukari's acquaintance growled upon hearing this news of the princess.

"Relax, we don't know anything about him, or his relation to the princess" the other acquaintance told the first acquaintance.

"Still, I wonder whether or not he can succeed in completing the princess's five impossible tasks; he looks the type to succeed, but who knows when he'll try it" Yukari teased her acquaintances.

"We're not the type to take teasing so lightly, Yukari Yakumo. If what you say about him is true, then I'm afraid we have to send in scouts to learn more about this man you talk about" the first acquaintance said to the gap youkai.

"Now, you said the princess is in your world, right? What evidence do you have to back up your claim of harboring the princess in your world?" the second acquaintance asked for clarification.

"Isn't my being here proof enough? I wouldn't have known where you were if it weren't for that one night and hearing about this civilization from the princess herself" Yukari replied, somewhat smugly.

"I see your point" the first acquaintance grumbled, "_You freak. Why would you openly admit to harboring our princess in your world?_"

"Relax, sister. I wonder about her intentions of revealing the princess's location to us, and I know she isn't the type to do things without an ulterior motive" the second acquaintance said to the first.

"You know, I can hear you" Yukari cleared her throat as she said that.

"Oh, then tell us why you would tell us about the princess, but not bring her here?" the second acquaintance asked the gap youkai.

"Oh, it's simply no fun to just hand over residents of my world, even if they aren't originally from my world" Yukari chuckled as she opened her small paper fan to cover her mouth.

The first acquaintance growled in frustration, while the second was still calm and with the negotiation face on.

"So then, WHY tell us hints of where our princess MIGHT be?" the second asked again.

"Oh, that's no fun. Why not find out for yourself? It's more fun that way, right?" Yukari teased again.

The first acquaintance's patience was running thin, and she was getting angry over these ridiculous vague answers that Yukari was giving. Rather, the first acquaintance looked as though she was ready to attack the gap youkai.

"Damn you, Yukari Yakumo!" the first acquaintance growled.

* * *

><p>~~ Entrance to the human village ~~<p>

Mokou got a crash course on what happens if a shadow devours your personality, and why shadows are a pain to deal with without the power of Persona.

"You've got to be kidding me, those things really turn you into nearly useless state!" Mokou asked in disbelief.

"Now you see why I wanted him to watch your back? I fear what happened to him will happen to you eventually. At least, I want him to be there until all this dies down and becomes a not-so-big deal.

"Sheesh, why not just tell me to 'watch my back' like you always told me before?" Mokou asked her.

"Remember when he told you about his shadow?"

Mokou nodded.

"Now imagine him right now if his shadow killed him… you wouldn't have met him or wouldn't know how to deal with that problem if he didn't warn us about it"

Once again, Mokou nodded after envisioning the scenario.

"Good. Now that you know what it is that I had him meet you for, please understand that what I said about you two going that far… I left to chance" Keine explained.

"Wait, you didn't plan on us being more than just friends?" Mokou asked again.

"I just wanted you to be safe, Mokou. Even I can't deal with those shadows and make them never exist; a connection was made between his previous world and this one" Keine added.

"Say what? More nonsense is all I'm hearing with connection to worlds and stuff. I thought Yukari Yakumo dealt with all that BS"

"She does, but even she cannot keep ALL of Gensokyo safe from every invading force. That's why, I suspect, that was the reason for her bringing him here" Keine added.

The situation was still not clear to Mokou, as she was still lost.

"Think of it this way; Yukari brought an expert on these enemies into our world to help us combat it. I'm just urging him to keep you safe… for my sake… especially after I realized that immortality doesn't necessarily grant total invulnerability"

"What? Immortality has… limits?"

"Fast regeneration, inability to age physically, extremely durable body, outstanding resistance to diseases and ailments… those are things immortality from the Hourai Elixir grant, but it doesn't protect against mental attacks or personality. I asked Eirin about the Hourai Elixir the day after you moved into the Bamboo Forest of the Lost" Keine answered.

"Huh, who would've guessed that the legendary Hourai Elixir wasn't perfect" Mokou sighed upon realizing the flaw.

"Even though you are physically immortal, these enemies are after the mentality of their victims. If they have to, they will even resort to physical attacks against you" Keine warned.

"It's like these things know everything about us and our weaknesses!" Mokou complained.

"I doubt it; they're like animals hunting for prey, but they are after a specific TYPE of prey; the minds of those that can potentially harbor Personas. You already know what a Persona is, I assume"

Mokou nodded.

"Good, then things should fall into place for you to understand now; if a Persona is devoured, destroyed, or 'killed' by the shadows, then so does the personality and mind of the person"

"How do you know this?"

"I used my power to look back on HIS history and compiled the facts he learned"

"That's one scary way to use your power" Mokou commented.

"Too bad I could only use my powers like that on a full moon night"

Mokou wasn't exactly an expert on the subject, and she was getting annoyed with being confused. "So… what do YOU think of him… as a guy?" Mokou asked her friend, changing the topic.

"Oh, him? It's nearly impossible, as he's a human like you. Humans and Youkai are, for the most part and with very few exceptions, nearly impossible to fall in love with successfully" Keine answered honestly.

* * *

><p>~~ Back at the graveyard ~~<p>

The young man found the gate to the next section of the graveyard after battling his way through several groups of shadows.

~~ 2nd floor ~~

This section of the graveyard had a warning sign on the gate saying 'Here lie the popular and influential deceased… Grave robbers beware'.

"_There are shadows here, and they're only going to 'rob' the already dead of their minds, if those deceased were anywhere near strong enough to manifest a Persona_" the necromancer thought to himself as he shrugged the sight of the sign behind him once he entered.

Looking around at some of the graves, one of them had a name written 'Arisato', but the first name was unreadable due to wear-and-tear over the years.

"_Arisato, huh? It's got to be coincidence that there's someone here with that last name_" he thought as he got back up to continue going deeper into the graveyard.

He ran forward several rows of graves, like around forty rows ahead, and then turned left. Things seemed clear in this section of the graveyard. His navigation skills were never good on his own, so he depended on luck to get around.

Then, when he rounded the next corner, he was faced with yet another group of shadows; two one Cowardly Maya, one Magic Hand, and another one called a Muttering Tiara (The Tiara type shadows look like a headpiece floating in mid-air with colored cloth attached below said object and an arcana mask. In the case of Muttering Tiara, it's a headpiece with black cloth attached below the headpiece, and a violet red mask fashioned to emphasize the eyes (Priestess arcana)).

"It's always challenging when you fight alone, but… that's also fun in moderation" he said to himself as he charged in to take on the group of shadows. Fortunately, he managed to get his hands on a Persona that knew a fire skill from the last fight through shuffle time (Chance to get an 'upgrade' or Persona card).

He engaged the three shadows in battle. His first course of action was to switch his current Persona to the new one. Pointing the Evoker to his head and pulling the trigger, he summoned his newly acquired Persona.

The new Persona looked like a young woman around age 20, slightly dark tone skin, pink devil wings complete with a devil tail. This Persona was wearing a one-piece bikini-like clothing.

"_Agi_"

With a wink to its owner, the Persona went to work. The devilish Persona conjured up a ball of fire in her hand and threw said fireball at its target; Cowardly Maya. The shadow instantly exploded in defeat, leaving the other two shadows to ponder what was next.

"_I hope I pick up a new useful Persona soon because I don't like this one for reasons a man cannot hold himself back from_" he thought to himself as he readied himself for the next attack (Striking an enemy's weakness or landing a critical hit lets the attacker take another turn *1 More*).

Since he attacked the enemy's weakness, he could attack again, which he proceeded to do right away. He summoned his Persona once more to shoot another 'Agi' skill at the Magic Hand, which defeated the shadow in one hit. Since the Magic Hand was also weak to fire, it allowed the necromancer to go yet again. For the third time, he summoned his Persona, only to use a Zio skill on the Muttering Tiara shadow.

The Muttering Tiara shadow went next, and it hovered over to the necromancer. Once in range, it used its body to tackle the Persona user.

This shadow was weakened from the attack, so any attack would've taken it down. This is exactly what the necromancer did this time, and went in for a strike attack with his fist into the shadow's headpiece area.

The battle came to an end, and he began his search for the gate to the next area.

* * *

><p>~~ With Yukari Yakumo ~~<p>

"… and as far as I know, he's already resolving an incident that suddenly made my world's incident difficult, if not impossible without his expertise on this matter"

"Why should we care about this nobody who doesn't even deserve our princess?" the first acquaintance rudely asked Yukari.

"Do you know ANYTHING about these 'shadow' things from one of the worlds he's been to? If your princess falls victim to those things, or her own 'shadow', then things will be difficult for both of us" Yukari calmly told her two acquaintances.

"I don't really care about him; what does this have to do with the princess?" the first acquaintance asked her again.

"I have an idea of how, but I hope the princess doesn't experience one of those 'shadow' things of herself" the second said with worry.

"It seems YOU know, but what about your sister?" Yukari taunted.

"Wha-THAT'S why you told us about this incident!" the first realized.

"You will need to know WHAT they are, HOW to deal with them, and WHY it's mandatory for me to keep in touch with him… Even I'm afraid of my own 'shadow'" Yukari admitted.

"Are these 'shadow' things that deadly?" the first asked the gap youkai.

"There are two incidents with these 'shadow' things that confirm their unusual threat level; they don't go after your flesh, they go after your mind. It almost made my shikigami's shikigami go suicidal, or it would've killed her. That and you need to know a bit about how human's and youkai's minds work" Yukari told her acquaintances.

"Alright, tell us what you know about them. I'll be the judge of how deadly they are, and whether or not you're telling me the truth" the first skeptically said to Yukari.

* * *

><p>~~ 3rd floor ~~<p>

The next section of the graveyard was reserved for one specific person, and there was only one grave in the middle of this section.

"Huh, a lone grave in its own section. Whoever is buried must've been someone spectacular to get his or her own section of the graveyard" he muttered to himself as he went up to the tombstone.

'Here lies Yoshika Miyako. Faithful friend and servant'

"Miyako Yoshika huh?" he muttered.

Unfortunately for him, he was startled when the person in the grave crawled its way out from under the ground where its tomb is.

"_Now comes the part where the dead come back to life to kill whoever is living… wait, my forgotten power lets me control them_" he thought to himself, remembering his necromancy power.

Focusing his necromancy power in his mind, he channeled the power into his right arm. Once that was done, he grabbed the arm of the undead that was coming out of the ground, most likely the person buried.

"_I hope I haven't forgotten anything important regarding these powers_" he thought to himself as he now thrust his necromancy power into the undead that was rising from the grave.

Sadly, there was no change in the undead's behavior so far.

"What! Why am I not in control of this dead person!" he shouted as he backed up away from the unusual undead.

The resurrected was a pale-skinned young woman with a red jacket and a black skirt. On her head was a piece of sealing paper. On the top of her head was a cabbie hat with a star on the front.

"Eh, hehehehe. YoU… FrEsh MeaT!" the undead groaned in delight upon seeing the necromancer (the undead doesn't know that yet).

"What the hell! I should have control of you when I channeled my power to you!" Damion yelled in bewilderment.

"Heh, heheheh… Are yOu a RoOkiE mAGe?" the undead, supposedly Miyako Yoshika groaned.

"The fuck? I'm a necromancer, and I can't control this one! Why!" Damion yelled, still bewildered.

"You DoN't kNow about JiaNg ShI, do YoU? ThEy aRe diFFerEnt frOm ZomBiEs" the undead, presumably Yoshika Miyako, groaned.

"Jiang Shi! That explains it… those things are out of my league to control yet" the necromancer realized.

"YoU tRieD tO ResSurEct Me?" Yoshika asked in a zombie-like manner.

"The hell? I didn't bring you back to life, I don't even know what the hell you brought yourself back to un-life for!" he countered.

"Un-Life… AH! MaSteR iS In TroUblE!" Yoshika realized, only to turn to flee, albeit slowly.

"Huh? Your 'master' is still alive?"

"YeS! I MuST gEt To hEr!" Yoshika shot back without a glance.

"What makes you say your 'master' is in trouble?"

"TWo saMe 'MaSTeRs' Is nOt PoSSibLe!"

"Two 'same' masters? Sounds like your master is meeting with his or her 'shadow'" he told her.

"WhaT? 'ShaDoW'?"

"Too long to explain. Lead the way and I'll take care of the 'shadow'"

Yoshika turned around, nodded, and limped as fast as she could towards her master.

~~ 4th floor ~~

This section was the entrance to a cave.

There were new types of shadows here, but most of them were from the first block of THAT tower from another world.

"NeW taRGeTs fOr DanMakU" Yoshika grinned eerily as she eyed the 'shadows'

"Do you have the power of Persona… Yoshika?" he asked her.

"PerSOnA? Is tHAt a nEw tYPe oF MeAt?" she replied with her own question.

"Nevermind, just stay back and let me take care of the masked enemies, since they're near-impossible to beat without a Persona" he said to the Jiang Shi.

Extending one arm to hold her back, he motioned for her to wait.

"WhAt iS PeRSoNa?" Yoshika asked him.

"Personas and shadows are too difficult for me to explain to a rotting corpse reanimated by an unknown person" he said to her as he engaged the shadows again.

The group of shadows they encountered consisted of one Muttering Tiara, one Obsessed Cupid (Cupid type enemies are ALMOST what they sound like; midget people with cupid wings and a bow for a weapon. In the case of the Obsessed Cupid, it's black body with a red 'affection with a diamond shaped open mouth' mask (Lovers arcana)), and one Cowardly Maya shadow.

"ThEy lOoK tAStY!" Yoshika grunted hungrily.

"I don't think you'd want to eat them, as they are mostly emotions and darkness…"

Too late, as Yoshika began bite down on the Cowardly Maya's body. Surprisingly, she was able to eat the part of the shadow without a problem. This, however, caught the attention of the other two shadows in the group.

"Damn it, Yoshika! I said stay back!" he yelled at her before bringing out his Persona, Lilim, to cast a Zio spell skill on the Obsessed Cupid. Lilim generated a stream of weak electric current through her body and then directed the electricity through the air towards its target.

Although it wasn't weak to the spell, the Obsessed Cupid was defeated, and exploded in a shadowy mess.

This left the Muttering Tiara focused on the Jiang Shi, while the Cowardly Maya was trying to get away from its unexpected predator. The Muttering Tiara shadow flew towards the Jiang Shi and tackled her with its body. Unexpectedly, the damage was so little; it was almost as if no damage was dealt to her. The Cowardly Maya, on the other hand, was too busy escaping the toothy grip of the Jiang Shi.

"Sheesh, I never thought the shadows were afraid of being eaten… and eating them was one of the last things I'd EVER expect to do to my enemies" the necromancer commented as he brought his Evoker to his head.

Once again, he summoned his Persona, Lilim, to shoot another Zio spell at the Muttering Tiara this time. The damage to the book was large, but not enough to defeat it. It did, however, cause paralysis to the enemy.

Sadly, the paralysis wore off immediately when its turn came, thus rendering the paralysis nearly useless (Paralysis ALMOST guarantees a critical hit from a physical attack until the paralyzed's turn comes up).

Once again, the Muttering Tiara enemy tackled the Jiang Shi with its body, to no avail. The Cowardly Maya, on the other hand, was halfway devoured, and still struggling to escape from Yoshika's hunger.

"_I don't know what the hell is wrong with her, but if she eats the shadows, essentially clearing them out of the way, then I guess I can work with her until we find her 'master'_" he thought to himself.

Taking this turn to battle, he gave the weakened Muttering Tiara a jab with his right fist, essentially finishing off the shadow.

By now, Yoshika finished devouring the Cowardly Maya.

*BUUUURP*

Yoshika burped when she somehow ate the shadow.

"Tell me… what do they taste like?" he asked the Jiang Shi.

"Eh? TasTE? I thInK lIKe dIrT aNd DarKNeSS" Yoshika answered.

"Darkness huh? I should've figured, as they are called 'shadows' for a reason" he responded to her answer.

Once Yoshika was done with her post-meal chit-chat, she continued leading the necromancer to her master.

* * *

><p>~~ Yukari Yakumo… unknown location ~~<p>

"That's a shame… I was expecting a stronger person with full mastery of his powers, but I've seen average strength in his power of those… phantoms… as well as that power you helped him regain" the first acquaintance commented.

Of course, the three of them were watching the incident live through several of Yukari's gaps. Five gaps were open, one for Reimu, one for Marisa, one for Sanae, one for Youmu, and one for Yukari's 'expert' on shadows.

"Were you expecting a miracle worker? If so, then that's Sanae's job to create miracles. Reimu is Gensokyo's incident resolver and co-manager of Gensokyo. Marisa is a pest who's a friend of Reimu. Youmu is a servant of one of my closest friends. Him, on the other hand, rubs me the wrong way sometimes, but I need him to keep those 'shadows' under control" Yukari explained to them.

"I don't care about those girls, as they aren't exactly that close with the princess" the first acquaintance muttered through clenched teeth.

"Knock it off, I know you don't like him, but we don't know enough about him to make a rational course of action of whether he's a threat to the princess in THAT way" the second acquaintance said to the first as though trying to reassure her of something as only a possibility.

"Rest assured he'll be tired after this. This is something I'm VERY sure will happen, as humans usually sleep around this time" Yukari added.

"I hope you know the consequences of your 'expert' getting too close to the princess. It's not just him we're going to get, it's also you we're holding you responsible for, Yukari Yakumo" the first acquaintance threatened.

"Relax, sister, don't get so worked up over a possibility. You can worry about that ONCE that happens, IF that happens" the second acquaintance assured the first.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to pass on this warning to him next chance I get when he doesn't have too much to worry about. You can be sure of that" she assured her acquaintances.

* * *

><p>~~ 5th floor… cave ~~<p>

The young man and the Jiang Shi found a staircase that lead down to the next floor (Now entering the 5th floor of this dungeon, 2nd floor of the cave).

In the next floor, there were scattered shadows, of one shadow variety.

"MasTEr iS CloSE" the Jiang Shi said to her travelling buddy.

"That close already? Perhaps on the next floor" Damion guessed.

Yoshika, as usual, led the way.

However, upon reaching the floor, they were greeted by a girl in a green dress. She was wielding twin katana swords in her hands. Hovering next to this girl was what looked like a friendly ghost.

"YOU! Jiang Shi! I thought I got rid of you earlier!" the mysterious dual-wielding girl in the green dress hissed at the Jiang Shi.

"YoU! StAy aWAy FrOm MasTeR!" Yoshika Miyako hissed back at the girl in the green dress.

"Yoshika! You told me there are two of your 'master', and I don't think this girl has the slightest clue of what might be really going on! Perhaps she's here by mistake and got lost…"

"HEY! Shut it! I'm here by Yuyuko-sama's request to investigate the rogue spirits" the dual-katana wielding girl yelled at the necromancer.

"Listen, I'm here because of a certain type of enemy, and I suspect this place is crawling with those enemies, and even doppelgangers of whoever is in these caves" he yelled back.

"Listen, this place isn't safe for you humans, especially with those masked freaks running about…"

"Those are the enemies I'm taking care of, as they're from a world I've been to before. There's another kind of those 'freaks' that take the form of anyone, and spout 'nonsense' that is really" Damion began, but stopped, "oh forget it. I'm an expert on those 'masked' freaks. That's the reason for me being here"

"What, exactly are they?" the girl in green asked him.

"I'll explain later, but I need to get to this Jiang Shi's master and take care of this 'second' master that's exactly like the original" he said before returning to following the Jiang Shi.

"The hell you better explain things to me, those masked freaks are too hard to take down without my ghost half acting as my weapon…"

"Ghost half?" he interrupted.

"Oh, right… I'm a half-ghost, half-human hybrid. My mother was a ghost, and my father was human" the girl explained.

"ArE YoU UndEaD tHEn?" Yoshika joked back to the girl in green.

"NO! I'm alive, stupid!" the girl in green shouted at the Jiang Shi.

"Alright, let's just skip formalities. My name is Damion. I'm an expert on these masked freaks; we called them Shadows back in another world where they existed" Damion introduced himself to the girl in the green dress.

"Youmu Konpaku. Yuyuko Saigyouji's servant, gardener, and guard to Hakugyokurou in the Netherworld. What are those masked freaks' weaknesses? Danmaku doesn't do a thing against them" Youmu introduced herself, and then got straight to the point of discussion.

"You can't hurt them much unless you have a strong heart, strong beliefs, and strong will. Even then, that will only allow you to be able to manifest the power of Persona. Personas are the manifestation of your emotions given physical form"

"Alright, how do you get this Persona power?"

"Random, but you need those three qualifications. Even then, you wait for your 'shadow' to come to you, then confront it. Whether it becomes your Persona depends on how willing you are to accept your 'shadow' as part of yourself" he explained to her.

"Sounds easy enough" Youmu commented.

"I wish it was that easy, as your 'shadow' will confront you with facts and deep dark secrets that you don't want to confront, and said info is actually what you really think about others. Most 'shadow' selves appear when you are most vulnerable, or when you're with your friends and close ones" he added.

"Sheesh, is that all those 'shadow' selves are made of? A wake-up call to your real thoughts? They're not that dangerous to me" Youmu sighed as though relieved from a false alarm.

"If you fail to accept them, whole truthfully and without hesitation, then it'll go berserk and try to kill you. The only way to counter them is by having someone with a Persona fight for you. You CANNOT defeat your berserk shadow by yourself" the necromancer warned her.

"DoWN thERe! MasTEr Is doWn tHE sTAiRs hERe!" Yoshika said to Youmu and Damion.

Sure enough, the stairs to the next floor was right around the corner.

~~ 6th floor ~~

It was a single, large cave room with many walls.

"MasTEr!" Yoshika called out once the three of them were down on the 6th floor.

No response for the first few moments.

"I hope that we didn't get here too late" Damion cursed under his breath.

Fortunately, at this point, someone literally came out of wall in front of the three.

"**Yoshika! What happened to you? You were supposed to be here yesterday watching my back**!" the person, female, scolded the Jiang Shi.

"SoRrY MasTEr!" Yoshika hollered.

Then things got worse when the newcomer's doppelganger arrived just behind the first.

"MaSTer?" Yoshika asked the 'master' in front of her.

"You get away from MY servant, you FAKE me!" the other identical girl yelled to the one talking to Yoshika.

"What the hell is going on? Why are there two of you?" Youmu asked the two identical girls.

The identical girls had blue hair, a golden staff going through her hair, dark blue eyes, light blue dress, beige vest, and a flower-ornament on her brown belt. One of them, however, was giving off a dark aura and was slightly darker tone of skin.

"SeIGa-sAMa!" Yoshika called out to her 'master'.

"At least the usual hasn't happened yet" Damion muttered.

"The… usual?" Youmu questioned him.

"Usually, the 'shadow' self goes on a head-on assault with truths, deep-dark-secrets, and rejected concepts that are the truth… making their original face them all"

"If they're just ideas and facts, what makes them so bad?" Youmu asked again.

"People and youkai react differently to different truths and facts. Usually we reject certain concepts and facts, like a secret love for someone who is your master or someone like your servant, or it could be a forced teaching of a religion you reject. It depends on the individual, Youmu" he explained.

"Is that all? What a disappointment" Youmu, once again, acted as though it was a false alarm.

"Just wait until YOU have to face YOUR shadow, and THEN talk to me about how 'easy' it is to deal with the facts that you reject"

"You sound like it has happened to you"

"Funny thing is that it actually happened to me, and that's how I regained my Persona powers. Trust me, facing the truth is much, MUCH harder than it sounds"

"So, what 'truths' did you face from your 'shadow'?" Youmu asked him.

"Later, as it's starting!" he brushed aside the question.

The new girl, Seiga, was glaring at her 'doppelganger'.

"**Face it, even though you're married, you have feelings for your servant; you're a sick necrophile!**" the shadow Seiga scolded the original.

"No! That's not true! She's my friend… but I don't think of her that way!" the original Seiga shouted back.

"**Then how do you explain why you put such faith in a rotting corpse! All she's good for is eating ANYTHING she finds without worry of poisoning or diseases that come with whatever she eats? That kind of servant isn't that good to keep around!**"

"You're wrong! She keeps me company, protects me… even keeps me safe! Tell me, what would I gain from cheating on my husband with a Jiang Shi?"

"**It should be obvious, you desire pleasure, someone or someTHING you can depend upon to keep you alive by sacrificing that some THING… a meat-shield, so to speak**"

At this point Miyako Yoshika was clueless as to what was going on, but Youmu and Damion were following the conversation thus far.

"_Which one is the fake?_" Youmu asked the necromancer in a whisper.

"_The one that is 'harassing' the other, is giving off a dark aura, and is slightly darker tone than the other is obviously the shadow_" he whispered back to the half-ghost/half-human hybrid.

"Oh" was Youmu's response.

"**Just admit that you're also pissed off at being another guard to prevent outsiders from stopping the resurrection of a dear friend of yours**" 'shadow' Seiga said to her original.

"That's not right! I'd gladly fight to protect her resurrection! She's a great friend to me, and I'll protect her! Why won't you understand that I'm not like that!" Seiga asked her shadow.

"**It's because… I AM YOU!**" Shadow Seiga told her original.

"_It's just about time for the rejection, thus going-berserk shadow time_" Damion whispered to Youmu, "_Just let me deal with the shadow-gone-berserk, and I hope you know how to comfort her until she regains stability_"

"_What do you mean, 'stability'?_" Youmu whispered back.

"_When I beat her berserk shadow, you comfort the original until she can think clearly. I'll explain what's going on to her and try to get her to accept the facts of her shadow. Once that's done, it's up to Seiga whether she accepts her shadow or not_"

"_Can you tell me what that means in simple language?_"

"_Just wait for me to take out the berserk shadow, and when Seiga regains consciousness, help her come to her senses. I'll explain the truth to her regarding her shadow_" Damion whispered back the simple version of what was about to happen.

This explanation was the one that Youmu knew and understood. Then, she nodded in acknowledgement.

"You… can't be serious… I wouldn't think that way about my husband, servant, or friend…" Seiga started losing her senses, "YOU CAN'T BE ME!"

As with most, if not all cases when someone tells that to their shadow self, the shadow began laughing like a maniac.

"**Heheheheh… HAHAHAHAHA! That's right, I'm ME now. So now there's no need for YOU now if I'm me !**" Shadow Seiga cackled.

In addition to the maniacal laughter, the shadows from the previous floor and the darkness from around everyone started rushing towards Shadow Seiga, pouring their energy into said shadow. At the same time, Seiga fell unconscious and dropped to the floor.

Miyako Yoshika quickly limped her way to her 'master' and got down to check on her the best she could (Of course her arms with outstretched in front of her, so checking on her master would be tricky).

"Alright, Youmu, you keep Yoshika and Seiga safe from collateral damage from the battle…"

"You're battling that thing by yourself!" Youmu interrupted, with a look of 'are you insane?' on her face.

"Do you have the power of a Persona? If not, then you need to have a strong heart, belief, and will to have the power of a Persona that allows you to fight the shadows" he replied to her.

"I don't know, but I'll give it a try. There's almost nothing my swords can't cut" Youmu boasted.

"I hope so, but if you can't land some damage on that shadow, then back off and let me take care of it" Damion ordered.

"Don't order me around, only Yuyuko-sama can do that" Youmu shot back.

"Heh, alright. Let's hope you possess the qualities to manifest a shadow then. I'll know if you do if you damage the shadow" he replied.

Youmu didn't answer, but nod in acknowledgement. "Yoshika, take care of your master until we're done with her… uh, imposter" Youmu said to the Jiang Shi.

Yoshika grunted in response, acknowledging her order.

Once Shadow Seiga was finished gathering the darkness into her, her appearance changed to that of a freak wraith. Its left arm looked like it was a scythe, whereas the right arm looked like an arm-mounted drill. On the forehead of the wraith was a diamond-shaped clear crystal. The wraith didn't have feet, but a tail of sorts that some spirits are often depicted as having. The face of the wraith was human-like in structure, but the eyes were more curved and the mouth was emphasizing the creepy death-like smile.

* * *

><p>## Battle against Shadow Seiga ##<p>

"**I am a shadow, the TRUE self… That pathetic runt thinks she can be a big shot when she is willing to sacrifice anyone who can help her survive? That's the lowest of the low for a hermit**" Shadow Seiga said as though proud of this fact.

"Shut the hell up. Even if she really thinks that way, she can change to be a better person!" Youmu shouted at the shadow.

"Youmu-san, save your breath; shadows will only listen when you beat some sense into them… Just trust me on this" he said to his battle partner.

"**Now you two decide to ignore your opponent? A foolish decision, especially if you're trying to protect the 'real' me**" Shadow Seiga taunted.

"Just wait until the shadow begins to show signs of backing down before you try and reason with it, Youmu-san" he added.

Youmu simply nodded in acknowledgement.

Then, without warning, Youmu made a mad-dash towards the shadow with one of her swords at the ready. She also infused her ghost half into her sword temporarily since she was able to take down some shadows with that ghost half before. Her plan was to apply her ghost half's ability to damage the shadows into her weapons to create a more effective battle style for her. Of course, this was just a theory to her. Once she was in range of the berserk shadow, she gave the shadow a quick slash into its body.

Fortunately, that managed to damage the shadow quite a bit (100% reduced to 97% health for Shadow Seiga).

Once the attack was over, her ghost half 'jumped out' of her sword and returned to her human half's side.

"Time for me to find out what the hell your problem is" Damion muttered as he cast the 'scan' spell on Shadow Seiga.

Various information became clear to him: She is a hermit who's lived for a long time, and has learned the very bare basics of necromancy to be able to summon and command her servant, Miyako Yoshika the Jiang Shi. She was a social outcast at a very young age, which caused her to distance herself from humans. The reasons for her being an outcast were due to people calling her a phantom because of her power to pass through walls. She tried, when very young, to fit in with the other humans, but all of her peers didn't want to have anything to do with her. As a result, she grew up lonely and somewhat spiteful towards humans. Through unique training methods, she was able to evolve from a human into a hermit. There was one human, though, that became part of her life, and married her years after meeting her.

She learned Taoism under her husband's family, but she also learned some things that Taoism were not very friendly about; necromancy. When she learned the art of necromancy, she was shunned and called evil. Fortunately, her husband tried to defend her. Things didn't work out well with her husband's desire to protect her, so they had to split up. Seiga came up with a plan to deceive her husband's parents into thinking she died, and her husband helped to make it work. Fortunately, things went smoothly and she made herself 'die', and bade farewell to her husband, forever. A gap opened near the outside of her home, and she went in, not knowing where it would take her (Damn it Yukari).

She arrived in Gensokyo, and it was pure luck that she reanimated (minor resurrection) a servant, Miyako Yoshika, that allowed her to make a friend to fill in the void that was missing in her life; a friend. Years passed, until she was found by three people; a saint, a ghost, and a human. All three of those newcomers to her life accepted her as a fellow outcast, and the five of them were great friends.

Tragedy happened to the human, and she was very upset over this. The ghost friend of hers talked about the way she died, and what dying felt like. The saint assured her that she can resurrect the human, and was told to help the ghost prevent intruders from interrupting the resurrection procedure. The hermit was skeptical of the saint's claim, but went along with the plan anyway. She grew up with the knowledge of deceased stay dead and can't be brought back to life completely, and the notion of the saint resurrecting her human friend was outrageous and impossible, in her perspective.

Combat-wise, the shadow is resistant to physical attacks, immune to light and dark instant-death skills, absorbs fire skills, repels electricity skills, neutral to wind skills, and weak to ice skills.

"Huh, this might be tricky if all you can do is use physical skills, Youmu. It's weak to Ice type Persona skills, and I've only got one Persona that fits the bill to allow us a smoother battle" Damion reported to Youmu.

"Physical skills are a no-go?" Youmu asked him.

"Not as effective against Shadow Seiga as other types of attacks, but it's possible to beat her with physical attacks; it'll just take longer, doing less damage" he added.

"Tch, how much damage did I do to it?" Youmu asked him.

"Not that much, Youmu-san" he replied.

"**Is that really the best you two can do for a 'freak' like me? Miya-chan could do a LOT more than that!**" Shadow Seiga boasted.

The berserk shadow took its turn to counter attack. It hovered all the way towards the half-human, half-ghost girl and thrust its right arm towards her. Before the berserk shadow did, it caused the drill on its ghostly right arm to activate. Once the drill was active, Shadow Seiga thrust her right arm at Youmu.

Fortunately, Youmu was able to get out of the way before the drill could make contact with her.

"Well, at least now I know a new way to fight instead of having to throw my ghost half at those 'shadow' things" Youmu commented.

"Keep fighting like that, and we might be able to beat her eventually" he answered her.

Nodding to acknowledge the plan so far, Youmu readied herself for the next attack, which she rushed into.

Once more, Youmu brought her ghost half into her sword, infusing said sword with her other half with the energy needed to deal damage to the shadow. Once the sword was infused, temporarily, Youmu ran straight at the shadow, and gave it a few slashes on the side (97% reduced to 94% health for Shadow Seiga).

Now it was the shadow expert's turn. He changed his current Persona by flashing his head once. Bringing the Evoker to his head, he pulled the trigger and released the new Persona from within.

The Persona looked like a manta ray demon with a human body-like figure under the skin on the back. The Persona summoned was Forneus.

"By the way, Youmu, try to figure out your ghost half's properties like elemental weaknesses and let me know about it. Currently, I'm weak to fire-based Persona/shadow skills" he told her.

"Huh? You're weak to fire?" Youmu asked him.

"Not me, in particular, by my Persona is, and my Persona's properties become my own until I change Personas"

"Can I get that in English?"

"My weaknesses are that of my Personas. When my Persona changes, so does my weakness" He answered.

"Oh, alright"

"_Bufu_"

As if on cue, the devilish manta-ray Persona acknowledged its order and began its attack. Using its power of ice, the devilish manta-ray Persona quick-froze the air around the wraith-like shadow's torso. This, of course, caused the wraith-like shadow to fall down on the ground (94% reduced to 90% health for Shadow Seiga).

"What just happened?" Youmu asked, surprised.

"It's weak to ice-based Persona/shadow skills, and was knocked down. It's time for an all-out attack!"

"All-out attack?" Youmu asked.

"Just beat that thing shitless until it gets back up"

"Uh, ghosts don't take shits, they don't even use the toilet"

"That's beside the point, Youmu-san" He shot back.

Youmu simply nodded, giggled once, and rushed at the downed shadow. Damion, too, rushed towards the downed wraith-like shadow.

The two of them were now wailing on the shadow, the necromancer with his fists and feet, and Youmu using her sword infused with her ghost half. The two continued the hurt-fest until the wraith started resisting and swinging its arm weapons wildly (90% reduced to 82% health for Shadow Seiga).

"Fall back" Damion said to her.

"What? I thought we were doing just fine. We can beat it…"

"Not when it gets back up; you'd just hurl yourself into a counter-attack. I'm waiting for an opportunity to attack safely" he interrupted her. "_Hate to break a wall here, but this is generally how RPGs work. Attacking when it ain't your turn is not only cheating, but also an opportunity for the enemy to counter and deal damage to YOU instead_" he thought to himself.

In response to his logic, Youmu backed off. Shadow Seiga helped herself back up on her… tail… and readied herself for her counterattack.

Shadow Seiga retaliated by casting a spell skill she overheard the shadow expert say he was weak to, and used that weakness as her current skill. "**Try Agi, you pest**!" she declared before conjuring a medium-sized fireball in her mouth.

Once the medium-sized fireball was created and powered, the shot the spell at the shadow expert.

The shadow expert, sadly, couldn't dodge the attack in time and was hit hard by the spell (100% reduced to 76% health for Damion). In addition to the damage, he was also knocked down.

*1 more*

Shadow Seiga took this next turn to cast another spell, Mind Charge, on herself. This spell in particular caused the shadow to be extra focused temporarily until the next time it uses a magic-based skill/spell.

"Oi, what the hell? Aren't you tougher than that?" Youmu scolded the young man.

"Shit… put your guard up NOW!" he ordered her as he got back up.

"Why?"

"Whenever anyone uses a charge skill, they're getting ready to hit the enemy with double the damage from normal. The same applies to Persona users though"

Nodding, Youmu understood the danger of what was about to happen, and put her guard up.

Once the young man was back on his feet, he swapped his persona to another, then put his guard up, preparing himself for almost any attack.

The shadow then unleashed its spell, Maragion (Agilao that hits all enemy targets), unleashing the focus it had before. The fireball that was conjured in its mouth this time split into two, without sacrificing power to either fireball.

The fireballs struck both the human and half-human, dealing a lot of damage to both of them (76% reduced to 52% health for Damion) (100% reduced to 78% health for Youmu).

The force of the fireballs were intense enough to knock back the two to their asses on the ground, but not *down* ailment. The two sustained heavy damage, but still had enough strength left to continue fighting.

Youmu got back to her feet first, then followed by the shadow expert.

"Sheesh, now I'm glad you warned me about that, or I might've suffered a lot more serious burns" Youmu said to the shadow expert.

"Not a problem, but you need to keep track of its moves more often; non-offensive skills either mean buffs to itself or debuffs to us, it's using a charge skill, a status ailment inducing move, or healing itself with a skill" he told her.

"How do I know what effect she's dealing when she's not attacking?"

"I'll keep you updated on her non-aggressive skills. In the meantime, let's just continue the assault"

"Right"

Armed with the assurance that he'll keep her up-to-date on the shadow's moves, she can now fight a little more easily.

Youmu, once again, ran up to the shadow and slashed it once as she passed it (82% reduced to 79% health for Shadow Seiga).

Now the two of them were positioned in a pincer formation.

"Better get myself healed before I end up dead and unable to fight" he muttered to himself.

Changing Personas yet again, the shadow expert changed his Persona to another one. Once that was done, he brought the Evoker to his head and fired the gun-like object. The Persona inside him emerged from his body and awaited its order; The Persona this time was a fairy-like Persona in a blue one-piece outfit; rather, Pixie was its name, and what it was.

"Is that Persona a friend of Cirno?" Youmu commented.

"Cirno? Who's that?"

"Some fairy at Misty Lake in the Youkai Forest"

"Nope, this Persona is Pixie, and it is what it's name is"

"Oh"

"_Dia_" Damion commanded through his thoughts.

The Persona nodded with a wink and cast its spell on its host. White healing energy flowed from the pixie's body into its host's. Some of the damage done by Shadow Seiga was removed, but not all of it (52% increased to 62% health for Damion).

Now it was Shadow Seiga's turn. She hovered up to Youmu again, and swung her left arm's scythe upon the half-ghost hybrid. Sadly, Youmu was unable to evade the attack in time. The side of her shirt was cut slightly and a small gash was opened where the slash was opened (78% reduced to 68% health for Youmu).

As of now, things could go either way between the opposing forces. Seiga may be slightly stronger in health left, but it outnumbered 2 to 1. Damion and Youmu are weaker in health, but can deal a fair bit of damage to the shadow through all-out attack if the conditions are met.

"Youmu, I'm going to try and attack its weakness again, and the Persona I'll be using will be the same one I used before" the shadow expert asked her.

"I'll be staying here on this side, so I can't help you out. Sorry" Youmu apologized.

The ghost-half took her turn, running up to the wraith-like while infusing her ghost half into her sword again. Once in range, she gave the wraith-like shadow a quick slash with her ghost-half-infused sword and returned to her place opposite side of Damion (82% reduced to 79% health for Shadow Seiga).

"_Alright, I hope this new Persona is able to buy us some time while I figure out a more efficient method of taking down Shadow Seiga_" the necromancer thought to himself. Once he was ready to try out a new tactic, he changed his Persona, yet again, to the new one he picked up before the battle leading to this one.

He was ready to find out more about the Persona, and summoned it. The new Persona looked like a ghostly-white woman in a red one-piece bikini. The top part of this Persona's torso looked like it was a hybrid of human and tiger. The Persona was wearing a large brown hat of sorts. Its name was Senri.

"Is that Shou Toramaru in a skimpy outfit and a ridiculous looking hat!" Youmu asked jokingly, stifling her laughter all the while to no avail.

"Shou who?" Damion asked again.

"Oh, nevermind. She works at the Myouren Temple near the cemetery" Youmu added.

"Whatever… I'd better get back to dealing with this menace first" Damion replied, then gave a command to his Persona, "_Dia_"

The Persona nodded to acknowledge its command, and let out a wave of healing magic onto its host (62% increased to 72% health for Damion).

"**To think that after all that's happened to me before, I would deserve some happiness and keep said happiness instead of having it short-lived. Life is SO unfair! I HATE things being taken away from me!**" Shadow Seiga rambled.

"Life is unfair, get used to it!" Youmu shouted back.

"Hold on, Youmu; I have a better idea of what MIGHT be troubling her" the shadow expert told his battle partner.

He then turned to the shadow and shouted, "You're lucky to have even lived with choices of people you COULD make. I had to fight for survival in a game that could cost me my existence if I lost!"

"**The hell would you know about being an outcast anyway! I tried to entertain and impress others, only to be treated like some… alien THING!**"

"At least you weren't being hunted for some prize that some god put on humans in a game of his. I had to kill my friends back in my home world to ensure my own survival, and even then I wasn't left with much of a choice for reasons beyond comprehension"

"**Reasons beyond comprehension? You'd better have a good excuse, or I'm calling your bluff!**"

"Alright, the truth is that either I get killed by my friends, thus causing the game to continue indefinitely, or I kill my friends, take the prize, and break the infinitely-looping game. Should I have let the game continue looping, the world would've become extremely unstable and shatter itself upon the next loop"

"**Then explain why you are here! You saved that world, right?**"

The shadow expert looked down. "Wrong… Once I claimed my prize, I used that prize to give myself a power, and escape from my home world… and I've been travelling from one world to the next aimlessly"

Youmu, upon hearing the synopsis of the events he has been through, flinched at the story.

"**I call your bluff and call Bullshit on that fairy tale of yours**"

"Ask the entity called Death itself, and it will verify my so-called 'fairy tale'. I was taken in by Death of all worlds to be their 'shikigami' of sorts. Also, I still have my Persona powers from a previous world, thus making a valid point on that 'story' I've told you"

This time, the shadow couldn't argue with the fact of him having the power of Persona remain a fact that he can prove.

"And another thing, those shadows followed me to this world… how they got here is a mystery even to me" Damion added.

"**I still say you're spouting bullshit! Nobody taken in by Death actually lives…**"

"On the contrary, I found out later that my hospitality and training under Death was the will of the former god that created me to break the infinitely-looping game. The god's name was… Deus Ex Machina"

"**Why do you insist on this fairy-tale of yours to be true?**"

"It's because I have lived through and survived this 'fairy tale' myself; I'm speaking from first-hand experience"

Shadow Seiga's patience with him has now ended.

"**Shut the hell up, you don't know what it's like to be an outcast!**"

Upon finishing that statement, Shadow Seiga suddenly conjured another fireball in her mouth, readying another Agilao spell. Once the spell was ready, she shot it towards the necromancer.

Damion readied himself for the spell. However, nothing happened when the Agilao spell exploded on him. Rather, he was unaffected by the spell because of his Persona's immunity to fire skills.

"What! Why aren't you affected by that powerful spell just now!" Youmu asked the shadow expert suddenly.

"What? That's odd... I should… oh, it's my current Persona's elemental properties. I guess this one is immune to fire skills" Damion figured.

"If you had that Persona before, why didn't you use it when you were about to be blasted by that strong spell before!" Youmu scolded.

"I didn't get a good look at this Persona's properties when I got it; I only obtained it moments before this fight from the previous battle with the shadows!" he shouted back to his battle partner.

"And just HOW are you getting these shadows anyway?"

"Wild card users randomly get them after fighting a shadow or group of enemies. Most people get one or two when they manifest the power of a Persona for the first time"

"Make some sense in language I can understand!" Youmu shouted back.

"Let's just say I earn them from beating the enemies. How I get them is from being 'unlocked' after achieving certain milestones in obtaining and mastering this power"

This explanation, though vague and slightly off, was enough for the ghost-half to understand.

"Alright. We'll go with that, and you better give me a GOOD explanation after we beat this shadow" Youmu declared to him.

Taking her turn, Youmu infused her sword with her ghost half again, and rushed towards the berserk shadow. She gave the wraith-like shadow a quick slash before running back to her place (79% reduced to 76% health for Shadow Seiga).

At this time, it was Damion's turn for battle. He changed Personas again, causing his head to flash once, and changing his elemental properties too. Then, he brought the Evoker to his head and pulled the trigger, summoning the newly assigned Persona, Forneus. The devilish manta-ray Persona emerged from its host's body and readied itself for its command.

"_Bufu_"

The manta ray barrel-rolled in place to the right once, and then got to work on its attack.

Using the power of ice in the air around the shadow, it magically dropped the temperature of the air to quick-freeze the shadow's torso. A small chunk of ice formed on the torso and broke. This ice skill caused the wraith-like shadow to be knocked down (76% reduced to 71% health for Shadow Seiga).

"All-out attack time!" Damion declared.

Youmu, on the other side of the attack formation (One is on one side of Shadow Seiga, the other is on the other side; Pincer formation), was pumped and ready to go when she heard the call for the all-out attack. "About damn time!"

Youmu, with her ghost half infused into her sword again, as well as Damion rushed to attack the downed enemy. Together, they brought the hurt to the shadow once again (71% reduced to 63% health for Shadow Seiga).

Once Shadow Seiga started flailing around, trying to get back on her… tail… the necromancer gave the order to relent. Youmu was, like last time, reluctant to back off.

Shadow Seiga's turn came up, and she took her turn to use a skill on herself. This skill sent red, blue, and green energy flowing from the ground up onto her, essentially enhancing her overall combat skills in offense, defense, and speed.

"Fuck! That was Heat Riser… Her overall combat abilities just spiked by about 1.5 times her current combat abilities!" Damion yelled to his battle friend.

"Say what? She enhanced her abilities?" Youmu asked him in disbelief.

"Good thing I held onto some of the stuff from that world… Let me take care of her buff"

Sadly, it wasn't his turn, so Youmu had to take her turn anyway. She infused her sword with her ghost half again, and made a run for the shadow. Unfortunately, Shadow Seiga's buff allowed her enough speed to dodge the attack altogether.

Now it was the shadow expert's turn. All he did was pull out a crystal clear gem of sorts from his pockets and threw it upwards. The gem shattered to pieces, and the magic inside spread out to Shadow Seiga.

The magic that was inside the crystal clear gem apparently negated the buff Shadow Seiga applied to herself.

"Thank goodness I held onto that gem for something like this" Damion commented.

"What just happened? Was that rock defective and supposed to release a poison onto Shadow Seiga?" Youmu asked the young man.

"Idiot, it was a Dekaja Gem… it's a Persona skill given item form, and the skill itself negates buffs to the enemy. The debuff equivalent is Dekunda, Youmu. Her combat abilities just dropped back to normal" he shouted back to the half-ghost hybrid.

"Well excuse me for not knowing what those skills do!"

"Like I said, I'll keep you informed on Shadow Seiga's moves and plans. Just take my advice if you want to take her down quickly"

"Tch, fine!" Youmu pouted.

Shadow Seiga's turn came back, and she began to use another skill. This one in particular was a physical-base skill (enemies are exempt from the HP cost to use skills… skills that are physical based). The mutated wraith-like shadow opened its mouth, and shot a torrent of purple arrows at Youmu. Youmu couldn't dodge all of the arrows, but was grazed by a few. Fortunately, she wasn't poisoned (68% reduced to 58% health for Youmu)

"Heh, so this thing CAN shoot danmaku after all!" the half-ghost youkai said as though saying 'about time you did that'.

"That wasn't danmaku; it was Poison Arrow skill, Youmu, and I don't think I need to tell you the obvious danger about that skill" Damion warned her.

"Poison? No big deal. We can fix that…"

"Poison from shadow and Persona skills take off a fifth of your maximum health each of your turns! Regular poison is usually half as potent, but just… be careful if she uses that skill again" he interrupted.

"Stop interrupting me!" Youmu shouted at him, angry at the outbursts and 'advice' he's been barking.

Upset over being interrupted, she vented her anger out on the mutated wraith-like shadow. She, once again, infused her sword with her ghost half, allowing her weapon to deal some damage against Shadow Seiga (Youmu's heart, belief, and will weren't enough to hurt the shadows, but her ghost half does… thus allowing the ghost half to be the one to deal damage and allow items it 'possesses' to share the properties it has). (63% reduced to 60% health for Shadow Seiga).

Now it was the necromancer's turn, and he brought his Evoker to his head, pulled the trigger, and summoned his Persona, Forneus.

"_Bufu_"

Like before, the devilish manta-ray demon with a human body embedded on its back barrel-rolled to the right once, and let out its magic on Shadow Seiga.

The air around the mutated wraith-like shadow became VERY cold real fast, and ice was forming on the left arm's scythe. The ice that formed encased the weapon and part of the arm that merged into the weapon. Then, the ice cracked, dealing some damage and knocking down the shadow (60% reduced to 55% health for Shadow Seiga).

"Alright, all-out-attack!" Damion ordered. Youmu nodded on the other side of the downed shadow.

Youmu's ghost half fused itself inside the sword she was using, and then the sword user rushed towards downed wraith-like shadow. The shadow expert also rushed in at the same time, beating the wraith-like shadow like no tomorrow (55% reduced to 47% health for Shadow Seiga).

Soon, Shadow Seiga's wraith-like form began struggling, causing the half-ghost youkai and the shadow expert to back off to opposite sides of the shadow.

"**Why… why is it that even my husband left me? He found out I could pass through walls, and he left me out of jealousy. Now… one of my friends died a long time ago. When she resurrects, will she remember me…?**" Shadow Seiga whined.

"Huh, worrying over hypothetical things won't help much, but it does prepare one emotionally for those hypothetical what-ifs" the necromancer muttered.

"**What do you know about resurrection and preservation of the individual's memories! For all I know, she might not even remember who we are when she resurrects!**" Shadow Seiga argued.

"You're right. I don't know much about the details regarding resurrection. All I know are the details surrounding reanimation of the deceased, and those are different things" Damion shot back.

"Hey, stop worrying about the what-ifs and focus on what you'll do AFTER whoever it is comes back to life!" Youmu shouted to the wraith-like shadow.

"**Worry about… what happens later…? What do you know about the future anyway!**" Shadow Seiga snapped at them.

"We don't… All we know is that the future goes on, and we can't change the past. I learned this the hard way" Damion countered.

"**Then tell me, WHY are you trying to protect the 'real' me?**" Shadow Seiga sounded desperate for an answer this time.

He fell silent for a moment.

"**I thought so… you're the type to take advantage of someone during their time of need; you're no different…**"

"THAT WAS BEFORE IN MY HOME WORLD! I swore to protect my friends after what happened, and prevent what happened to my friends back there from happening again!" he interrupted.

"What do you mean, 'again'?" Youmu asked him. What the necromancer said piqued her curiosity, and she became worried over something bad about to happen.

"Long story, too long to summarize in a short time, but… here's the part that's relevant; close to winning some 'game' that a god set up in my home world, the only way to beat the game was to kill the other contestants. Unfortunately, I became attached to three of the contestants, making the decision to win the 'game' very difficult. Also, the prize I wanted from that 'game' was out of the question since it will cause time-related problems. So, I killed the other contestants left, my friends, and took the prize to escape that world and ensure my survival… I'm still traumatized by that, but I'm taking steps to get over it" he told them both.

"**Big deal, so you lost some HUMAN acquaintances. Find some NEW human friends and you'll eventually forget them!**" Shadow Seiga scoffed.

"Tch… here I was thinking you'd have some idea of what it's like to lose someone you're attached to and treat with respect… it seems you don't understand the concept of bonds and what it's like to lose those bonds with others" he muttered.

"**Bonds huh? They must've been WEAK if you had to kill them!**"

"They weren't weak; my friends and I survived as a team, placing our lives in each other's hands… only for me to betray them like the idiot I was back then"

"**Exactly my point; the bonds humans have are weak compared to youkais**"

"On the contrary… it's not about the strength bonds give humans or youkai; it's how strong those bonds are. Strong bonds are hard to break, but leave bigger tragedies when they are broken" the shadow expert countered.

"**Oh? You claim to know about bonds, yet I have not seen proof of your claims!**"

"You can't 'see' bonds between people, but you feel it in your heart when you have a bond with another person. The bond between you and your friend must've been deep for you to be saddened by her death this much" he added.

"**What do you know about the bond between me and my friend?**"

"I don't. This is also the reason why I'm telling you about them in general, not being specific or naming names"

"**Hmph, you better take responsibility and find a way to resurrect my friend**"

Shadow Seiga ended the conversation with that demand before returning to being aggressive.

It was Shadow Seiga's turn, and she floated towards the shadow expert. Once in range, she turned on the arm-mounted drill on her right arm with her thoughts and thrust the arm-drill at the necromancer. The drill pierced his chest, leaving a small hole on his stomach, but he was still capable of battle (72% reduced to 62% health for Damion).

"Tch, necromancers can't resurrect the dead, only reanimate them" he clarified to her. Of course, he said this after the drill stabbed him.

Shadow Seiga didn't respond to him

Youmu took her turn to attack the enemy once again. As usual, her ghost half 'possesses' her sword to allow Youmu's weapon to attack the shadow (47% reduced to 44% health for Shadow Seiga)

He was taking a risk, using a Persona that was weak to an attack he knows the wraith-like shadow boss will use, but he also wants to end the battle quickly to find out the cause of the rogue divine spirits.

Youmu, on the other hand, was getting annoyed at the enemy for being resistant to Youmu's main form of attack that isn't danmaku, also annoyed at being told what to do by the shadow expert.

The shadow expert took his turn to summon his Persona again to repeat the last turn's actions; summoned Forneus to use 'bufu' on the shadow (44% reduced to 39% health for Shadow Seiga).

As with the other times this shadow boss has been hit by ice skills, the shadow was knocked down due to its weakness.

"Go, go, GO!" Damion ordered.

Like before, Youmu was eager to wail on the enemy but doesn't like being told what to do (39% reduced to 31% health for Shadow Seiga).

The assault continued until Shadow Seiga started struggling and got back up on her… tail.

"**You PEST!**" the wraith-like shadow boss yelled.

Shadow Seiga opened her mouth to charge a fireball, 'Agilao', and then shot the skill at the necromancer. He couldn't dodge the attack and ended up taking the attack head-on. This caused the shadow expert to be knocked down (72% reduced to 48% health for Damion).

*1 More*

Shadow Seiga then hovered close to Youmu, and slashed her with her left arm's scythe (58% reduced to 48% health for Youmu).

"Damn it, at this rate, Reimu and Marisa will solve this incident faster than we can beat this… thing!" Youmu complained.

"The hell? You treat this incident as a race to see who can solve it? How stupid can you get! Seiga-san is mentally challenged because of this, and all you tell me is to beat her faster so you can win your little 'race'?" Damion shouted from where he was.

"Shut up!" Youmu shouted back.

Without warning, she went on the offensive again, slashing the wraith-like shadow boss with her ghost-half infused sword (39% reduced to 36% health for Shadow Seiga).

Damion got back up off his feet and ready to fight. Once more, he brought his evoker to his head to summon his Persona, Forneus, to use its ice attack again, also knocking down the wraith-like shadow (36% reduced to 31% health for Shadow Seiga).

"Hey, another round of beat the shadow shitless?" Youmu asked rather energetically.

"Go, go, GO!" Damion ordered.

The two of them rushed towards the wraith-like shadow. Youmu using her ghost-half infused sword to leave slashes on the shadow's body, and Damion using his hands and feet to land hits (31% reduced to 23% health for Shadow Seiga).

The wraith-like shadow boss was now struggling and fighting back, which made the two fighters relent.

Once the wraith-like shadow was back on its… tail… it was showing signs of fatigue and sorrow.

"**Why… why is it that misfortune always greets me whenever I try to do something good? I studied hard, tried to be friends… in the end, nothing good ever happens to me, even after I found Yoshika-chan and the others!**" Shadow Seiga complained.

"Hey, is this what you meant earlier?" Youmu asked Damion from the other side of the shadow in question.

"Yeah… let me do the talking for now!" he yelled to the half-ghost hybrid, then turned his attention to the wraith-like form of Shadow Seiga.

"You're right about misfortune… I've had it rough, fighting for my own life and a few others. Unlike you, that misfortune is always around because you LET IT control you…" Damion began.

As soon as he started talking about misfortune, the wraith-like shadow flinched.

"…Why the hell are you so damn weak where you can't stand up for yourself, or at least even TRY to fight back the misfortune you have? If you are in a new place, and misfortune strikes, FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT AND TURN IT INTO SOMETHING GOOD!" he yelled at the wraith-like form of the shadow.

His harsh words made Shadow Seiga's sorrow worse, but the impact of realization got through to her.

"**How… how am I supposed to make the most of the death of my friend?**" Shadow Seiga asked as though desperate.

Damion sighed. "You can't bring her back to life; from what I know about your level of necromancy, you can only have one undead servant. Sadly, there's nothing you CAN do for that human friend of yours except keep her in your heart, memories, and occasionally visit her grave every now and then to share a prayer"

Like a saint's divine light shining upon the misguided who have fallen into darkness, Shadow Seiga seemed to have realized that her misfortune caused her to lose sight of what was important to her.

Sadly, her sorrow returned her anger to her, causing her to become aggressive again.

"**Alright then, show me what it is I lack; I want to learn the answer from this fight**" Shadow Seiga retorted.

"Wait, I thought that preaching would've made her stop" Youmu asked, bewildered.

"It was worth a try, but now we need to beat some sense into her so that her shadow can calm down to let us help her original" Damion shot back.

Shadow Seiga (Wraith-like form) took her turn to hover up to Damion and swing her left arm's scythe at the necromancer. Fortunately, he was able to dodge the attack in time, avoiding damage altogether.

Youmu's turn came, and she rushed with her ghost-half infused sword. Giving the wraith-like shadow a quick slash, she left a gash on the shadow's body, which bled shadowy darkness (23% reduced to 20% health for Shadow Seiga).

"Almost over, Youmu. She'll be down in a few turns for good" he said to the half-ghost hybrid. Youmu simply nodded.

He was ready to finish the fight, and help out this girl.

Damion took his turn to summon his Persona, Forneus, again to use the ice skill on the wraith-like form of Shadow Seiga. This ice type skill not only inflicted damage, but also knocked down the shadow boss (20% reduced to 15% health for Shadow Seiga).

"Hey, she's just about done. Come on!" Youmu said, rushing before he could give the order.

He let it go and joined her in the assault (15% reduced to 7% health for Shadow Seiga).

Now she was flailing desperately as the two of them were senselessly beating the shadow. This caused Youmu and Damion to back down to prevent themselves from getting hurt from the rules of battling shadows. Of course, this was now the final stretch for both fighters, as Shadow Seiga was just about finished (turn-based battle rules).

"**I see… so that's the answer I'm fighting for… Now I understand why I was upset over the death of my friend**" Shadow Seiga muttered.

This turn, Seiga hesitated, but did nothing this turn.

"Huh? She's not attacking?" Youmu asked Damion.

"Sorry, but we have to finish the battle" Damion shot back.

Youmu nodded silently, and went for her attack. She infused her sword with her ghost-half, before giving the shadow boss one last slash for this battle (7% reduced to 4% health for Shadow Seiga)

"Now then, the finishing blow" Damion muttered.

He summoned his Persona for the last time this battle, Forneus, to use its 'bufu' spell.

The shadow, upon being hit by the ice skill, collapsed to the ground. It exploded in a blast of shadowy darkness until all that was left was the carbon copy of Seiga (4% reduced to 0% health for Shadow Seiga).

## End battle against Shadow Seiga ##

* * *

><p>The real Seiga awoke from unconsciousness.<p>

"Where… am I?" the hermit asked, opening her eyes slowly.

"MasTEr!" Yoshika squealed happily.

Seiga Kaku helped herself get up on her feet. She was relatively weak from her energy being sapped when her shadow self went berserk.

Damion and Youmu were panting from having defeated a tough opponent. There was a fair bit of battle damage on both of them.

"Are you alright?" Youmu managed to ask the hermit.

"Ye-yeah… I'm… fine" Seiga said weakly.

"Seiga, I know you just regained consciousness, but you need to know a few facts about that… thing… so listen up" Damion said to her.

He recapped everything Shadow Seiga complained about. Shadow Seiga, at the same time, got herself up to face her real self.

"So that explains why she knows that much" Seiga muttered.

"Look, that 'shadow' Youmu and I fought were the same kind me and Chen-chan faced earlier this week. We were in this very situation you are in, and we needed support to come to terms with our shadows" he told the hermit.

"What? Then what… did you do?"

"We accepted our shadows as part of who we were, knowing full well that they were, in fact, part of us that we cast aside, reject, or forgot. Also, we knew that they were really us because of studies about our 'shadows' from a world I've been to, which was a world those 'shadows' came from"

"Accept her… as part of me?"

"It's either that, or reject her. Rejecting her will only cause her to go berserk again, and try another attempt to kill us all. Trust me on this, you need to accept her; if you do, you'll become stronger and gain a power that might be able to help others"

"Helping… others… with a power?"

"I am not making this up. This power of yours can be used to fight off 'shadows' or help others. After all, a Persona is basically a 'shadow' that is tamed by its original, and if you have tamed a shadow, you can use that to fight other shadows to protect your friends"

Seiga seemed convinced by this, and she walked up to her shadow self.

"You… I now understand… you were trying to reach out to me, help me remember that I am not alone even after my friend died. You were… trying to, although cruelly, tell me to get stronger and keep the memories of my friend in me, even if my friend can't resurrect her" Seiga said to her shadow self.

Shadow Seiga's carbon copy human form nodded.

"You were trying to tell me not to forget the past, and that I shouldn't be a crybaby if my friends leave me… you are… really the 'me' that I didn't want to accept, and I'm sorry for pushing you away"

With another nod, Shadow Seiga finally got the answer she wanted to hear; acceptance from her original.

Shadow Seiga transformed into a clay statue with huge eyes (Arahabaki), and then turned into a card that gently fell into Seiga's head.

Upon receiving her Persona, Seiga fainted once more. This time, Youmu caught the unconscious hermit.

"Youmu, I'm sorry to ask this, but can you carry Seiga-san? I can't exactly fight while carrying a body" he asked the half-ghost youkai.

"Tch, fine" Youmu grunted.

Once Youmu propped the unconscious hermit on her back, piggy-back style, Damion opened the doors to the Mausoleum.

* * *

><p>Further ahead in the Mausoleum was Sanae Kochiya, and she was battling Shadow Soga, and winning against her. Surprisingly, Sanae had her own Persona. This fact alone shouldn't be surprising, if Sanae already played a certain game in the human world before coming to Gensokyo.<p>

The shadow boss looked like a humanoid made purely of electricity.

"**Shut up! What the hell are you talking about!**" Shadow Soga shouted to Sanae.

"Hehe, you don't know? You're just saddened by your friend's depression, and another's death, to the point where you can't even find happiness in anything you used to like" Sanae shot back

"**Damn you!**"

Sanae summoned her Persona card from her mind, which materialized in front of her. She twirled around and smacked the card with her gohei, causing the card to break and release the Persona it contained.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER<p>

(A/N: damage formula for Persona battles I write: 3% for base offensive spell skills with no resistance to that element, 5% for regular physical attacks if no resistance to physical attacks but physical Persona skills will vary from skill (weak physical hits 5%, medium hits 7%, large hits 10%, severe are 15%), Dia skill heals 10%, Diarama heals 40%, Diarahan still heals 100%, Hama/Mudo skills work only 20% of the time. Also, bosses deal at least double or more the damage, usually between 100% to 150% times more damage using these stats I use. Weak/critical hits deal 1.5 times the damage, resistance deals half damage, null voids the damage, repel bounces the attack back, and applies formula to user, absorb heals target for damage that would've been done. resistance to an attack ON TOP OF a resist attack type skill reduces that damage to a fourth instead (Ex: Persona resists fire attacks, and has 'resist fire' skill, then the damage done to it is reduced to a fourth).)

(A/N2: I improvised BEFORE learning Seiga Kaku's story, and I re-edited the story I improvised to fit more with the official profile AFTER some info about Seiga were posted on the wikia)


	8. Ten Desires Rendezvous

DISCLAIMER: I don't own squat except my OCs.

Author's note: I'm going to skip Shadow Soga since Sanae Kochiya is already fighting the thunder-summoning ghost.

* * *

><p>~~ 7th floor of the dungeon… Inside the Mausoleum ~~<p>

After opening the door to the Mausoleum and entering, Youmu was awe-struck by the number of divine spirits floating around; It was as if looking at a colony floating around, untouched by human interference, a plethora of said spirits interacting with one another.

"Wow, the sight of them all just… is beautiful" Youmu exclaimed as she admired the sight.

Damion, on the other hand, was more looking around the floor with disgust.

"If only this was a sight-seeing trip, then I'd enjoy the sight. It's a shame that those shadow mooks are running amok" Damion snarled at the sight of the shadow mooks littered across the 'dungeon' floor.

"Hey! At least take a moment or two to take in the sights! The spirits might go away if this incident is resolved!" Youmu snapped back at the necromancer.

Behind the two of them was Miyako Yoshika. Of course, she was more following Youmu because she was holding an unconscious Seiga Kaku.

"MasTEr…" Yoshika muttered with worry.

"Relax, Jiang Shi… She's just unconscious" the necromancer shot back to the Chinese vampire/undead.

This didn't work that well, since she was a Jiang Shi, not having that much intelligence and mostly acting on instinct.

The sight of the spirits seemed to be somewhat similar to the sight of a certain city ruins in another world when seven people, on a pilgrimage, travelled the 'world' while fighting off spawns from a giant whale-like monster called 'sin'.

"Listen, can we get going already?" Youmu demanded.

"First, I need to ask something that was bothering me… were you waiting for me back there in the 'cave'?" he sternly asked her.

Youmu flinched at the question. She didn't blush or show hesitation; she was just surprised at the question.

"No I wasn't"

"Then tell me, why were you there, as though waiting for someone?"

"I told you I wasn't waiting for anyone. I was just lost in thought when Yuyuko-sama stood in our way back in the netherworld, and I was wondering why she would do such a thing" Youmu angrily snapped back.

"I see… My apologies. I was brought here by Yukari-san to deal with those 'shadows' and the 'shadows' inside people; she and I are, sort of, working together to keep Gensokyo's peace. When I saw you back there, I assumed Yukari told you to assist me in some way" Damion apologized, and then bowed to the half-ghost youkai.

She was taken aback by this sudden apology.

"Wha-what? Yukari almost never tells us things, but she told us she needed a certain shadow expert alive for a 'game' of hers later in the future" Youmu replied, somewhat slowly.

"A 'game'! What the hell! I thought Yukari and I had this mutual agreement to keep me updated and sent straight to whomever has an incident with their 'shadow'!" Damion cursed.

"That's Yukari for you. She likes to pull these kinds of crap on people, mentally and physically challenging them. If I were you, I'd cut my ties to that gap hag and ask Aya to have the Tengu keep an eye on Gensokyo for 'shadows'"

"And WHY would I do that? I need to get to the 'shadow' incident almost immediately, and Yukari is able to help me accomplish that. Besides, that 'shadow' we just fought are the kind I'm supposed to deal with here in Gensokyo"

At the mention of Yukari 'helping' him, Youmu began to stop herself from laughing. This was indeed something most unexpected.

"Heh, heheh, now THAT's a laugh! Yukari… actually helping you? Ha, hahahahahaha!" Youmu laughed, clutching her stomach with one hand and keeping the unconscious hermit supported on her shoulder with the other hand.

"Wha-! She owes me that much with Chen being the first 'Shadow' victim from Gensokyo. Of course, she also added in some info I didn't expect to hear" he answered back.

Upon hearing Chen's name and 'victim', Youmu stopped laughing and looked serious.

"What happened to Chen?"

"She was attacked by her shadow, the same way Seiga-san was attacked. I only asked her to keep tabs on everyone and get me to whoever is dealing with their shadow… that's all I asked her in return for saving her shikigami's shikigami"

It took a while for Youmu to take in what happened. When she finished comprehending the info, she just nodded.

"Oh, alright. I guess she _does_ have some level of understanding. To think she was desperate enough to ask a newcomer for help…"

"A newcomer that has knowledge of and can manage to easily take down these new threats. My goal is to get this place prepared to take on the shadows before I'm needed in another world" he interrupted.

"Wait, what! Get us ready for the shadows? Needed in another world? What the hell are you talking about!"

Damion ignored those questions and started walking around the 7th floor.

Youmu wouldn't let up, as she repeated her questions to him over and over, as he mowed down the shadow mooks that threw themselves at him. Occasionally, Miyako would try to eat one, thinking they were dark meat, which meant a little more work for Damion to defend the Jiang Shi.

As he fought the shadows, he was seeing Persona cards in his mind after some of the battles. There was one Persona in his possession he didn't want to use, but was a huge help in magic coverage (Lillim). Of course, being a male doesn't help when they use a Persona that is based on 'death by sex' concept. So, he was trying to avoid using that one Persona like the plague.

"_If only I was stronger, I'd be able to fuse a Persona from my favorite arcana, and create that Persona, Pale Rider_" he thought to himself as he remembered hearing about the Personas his friend used back in the Persona world from his friend.

Thoughts of his best friend were now rolling in his mind, and that one moment that saved countless lives in that world.

Youmu wasn't aware of it at the time, but Damion was upset at the memory of losing his friend. Rather, part of that became clear, but vaguely, to her when he saw a tear escape from his eyes.

"Huh, what's bothering you?" Youmu asked him.

Perking up, he heard Youmu's new question.

"Oh, it's just a bad memory of losing another friend I once had… somewhere else" he answered, being vague.

Unfortunately, that one moment of distraction caused Damion to lose sight of the shadow he was fighting, and ended up being hit by a critical hit from a Muttering Tiara shadow.

He was knocked down, and the shadow went for an elemental skill (spells are for magic cast by the user, skill are magic used by Personas).

A chunk of ice formed on the necromancer's left arm and shattered to pieces, dealing damage to him.

"That's it, I'm taking you down!" Damion yelled as he got back up to his feet. Once on his feet, he summoned his Persona to take out the last shadow in the group.

* * *

><p>~~Meanwhile, 10th floor, Mausoleum ~~<p>

Sanae was holding her own against the shadow boss.

"**Damn it, why can't you understand our ways? Convert and we can be friends!**" Shadow Soga cried out to her opponent.

"I can't, as I have my own shrine and goddesses to maintain. Now be a dear and give back Soga's consciousness or I will beat you senseless!" Sanae threatened.

She summoned her Persona, Konohana Sakuya, to fire an Agilao burst at the shadow boss.

Konohana Sakuya was a faceless, pink female human-like Persona that wears a cheerleader-like uniform with a white heard ornament on the front of the shirt. The Persona carries a strand of cloth that goes behind her to make her stand out, with sharp feather-like scales on said cloth.

This Persona conjured a medium-size fireball in her hands and shot the fireball at the electric-type shadow boss. The fireball exploded in a medium-size blast.

The shadow boss wasn't weak to the attack, but it was susceptible to the element (Susceptible, but not weak to). By now, the shadow boss was down to at least a third of its health left, while Sanae was still raring to go with about four-fifths health left in her.

The electric-based shadow boss shot a medium-size thunderbolt into the air and said thunderbolt crashed down on Sanae. She would've been decimated, if not for the protection of her Persona (Remember, Shadow attacks on humans without a Persona is suicidal and bears little to no results).

Sanae shrugged off the attack like it was nothing, though taking a little bit of damage.

* * *

><p>~~ 8th floor of the 'dungeon', Mausoleum ~~<p>

Damion and Youmu arrived at the entrance to the floor without too much trouble.

"Hold up, let me get us both healed" he said to Youmu.

"Huh? Take a break? Sure" Youmu replied, setting down Seiga Kaku on the ground.

Damion repeatedly summoned one of his Personas to constantly heal himself and Youmu Konpaku.

(Both fighters' HP back up to 100%)

After the deed was done, he took out a small bag of what looked like pieces of souls. He ate some.

"What's that you're eating?" Youmu asked as she saw him eating.

When she got up to take a look, she freaked out, snatched the bag from him, and caressed the bag tenderly. This caused him to over-react and make a grab for the bag she stole from him. She, of course, tried very hard to keep the bag away from him.

"What the hell are you eating! People. Do. Not. Eat. Souls!" Youmu shouted defensively.

"The hell? Those are soul drops, an edible food from the Persona world. People and Shadows eat them to restore their 'energy' when they use Personas!" he shouted to her, while still trying to take back his back of 'snacks'.

She refused to let him have his bag of 'snacks' back, mostly because the 'snacks' themselves looked like fragments of souls. The sight of them made Youmu's ghost-half turn slightly green. To Youmu, the soul drop 'snacks' looked like a dismembered soul, similar to how a human might see human fragments or body parts.

"I used a lot of 'energy' in that fight using Persona skills, and now I'm trying to restore that 'energy' with those snacks" he shouted to her. Of course, he was still trying to reach for his 'snacks' again.

"No! I can't let you eat something so hideous and disgusting!"

"Damn it, Youmu! Those are edible, as my friends and I have eaten them without problems!"

"No, eating these soul fragments is like eating pieces of human! It's just not right!"

"For the love of Death itself, GIVE THEM BACK!"

Once again, he made several attempts to grab his bag of 'snacks' back from the half-ghost youkai.

Eventually, he managed to get them back with a little luck. Youmu, startled by his retrieval of 'snacks' successfully, drew her swords out.

"Don't. You. Dare. Eat. Them!" she threatened him.

"Youmu-san, they're just edible soul fragments, similar to how there are human-shaped snacks. Besides, Personas use SPIRIT energy, not magic energy!"

"What! Spirit energy? There's only magic in Gensokyo!"

"Spirit energy is energy from faith or religion, used by shadows and Personas to use extraordinary abilities that defy all logic"

"Now you're just making this up!"

"Youmu-san, I'm trying to be nice here. However, you're not listening to me when I say these soul drops are edible 'SNACKS'!"

"How would you like it if I ate human body parts in front of you, and actually liked it!"

"I wouldn't care, and I'd let you eat it. I've seen worse shit happen in… other places. This includes kidnapping of, and attempted rape of a loved one despite dangers of being killed or wiped from existence"

"Huh? You'd let me eat one of you humans in front of you?"

"I wouldn't exactly care much if the dead body wasn't someone I knew on a personal level, and I wouldn't even try to save someone I know if they were inevitably going to die"

"Then tell me… why would you eat something as disgusting as a soul fragment?"

"Those soul fragments provide me with spirit energy in order to summon and use Personas!"

Now Youmu had a small grasp on the idea.

She sheathed her swords and ceased her hostility.

"I hope that's true, or else I'm going to make sure you pay for desecrating something as pure as a soul, no matter how good or evil it is" she threatened.

He seemed to have gotten through to her about the edible part of his 'snacks'. He, more than anything, wanted to scold Youmu for not understanding his words and what he tried to tell her about the soul drops.

Thankfully, he didn't get the chance.

Youmu got back up with Seiga Kaku on her shoulder again.

"Come on, let's hurry up and get to the bottom of this incident before Reimu, Sanae, or Marisa resolve it" she said to him as though trying to rush him.

(Damion's Spirit Points back to full after eating a few soul drop 'snacks')

He agreed, though somewhat reluctantly, to follow the half-ghost youkai.

* * *

><p>~~ 10th floor, Mausoleum ~~<p>

The shadow boss was down to a tenth of its health left, Sanae was still looking moderately healthy.

"**How can you possess this much strength without losing much health?**" the shadow boss asked the wind priestess.

"Heh, it's not that big a deal when you know how to play the game for a long time"

"**A GAME! You think all this is a game!**"

"That's how it is, now stop complaining!"

"**Then tell me the answer I seek!**"

"Fine then; You're just misguided and lost because of the 'death' of your friend who followed another's beliefs into becoming one of those 'immortal' beings" Sanae exclaimed.

"…**!**"

"Now that you know your problem, fix it as you see fit!"

Sanae, once again, summoned her Persona, Konohana Sakuya, to use Agilao skill, on the shadow boss"

* * *

><p>~~ 9th floor, Mausoleum ~~<p>

The two fighters, Youmu carrying the unconscious Seiga Kaku, and Damion the shadow expert, made it to this floor without many shadow mooks blocking the way.

For the most part, he was using his Persona's physical skills, and healing the health cost to use them with his Persona's spirit energy skill 'Dia'. This was working for the most part as his low-maintenance routine to get him and Youmu through this place.

"Hey, I never really got to know how you got here to Gensokyo" Youmu said, trying to start a conversation.

Following Youmu was Miyako Yoshika, the Jiang Shi.

"Lots of shit happened starting from my home world, and I've been thrown from one place to another with help from Death of several worlds. They had me be a bodyguard to my best friend, and keep the 'peace' of the places I'm sent to. I can't quite get a break for one day without Death throwing me from one… place to another"

"Wait, DEATH! Like Komachi?"

"No… Death as in the entity called Death"

"That's what I meant; Komachi is a shinigami, and…"

"Shinigami are lesser beings that serve the entity called Death… in name for the most part. They're mostly gophers for the real entity called Death" he interrupted.

"Eh! There's a number of Deaths?"

"Grim Reapers and shinigami were mistaken for Death, but Death itself is like a manager for those that die, and sends underlings to fetch the souls of the deceased. Similar to how there's a hierarchy of humans being low in the 'chain of command' here in Gensokyo with youkai at the top, Death hierarchy is just as complicated. Death itself is the manager of a universe, while shinigami and grim reapers are the servants"

"Wow, so complicated"

"Long story short, too much bullshit happened to me, leaving me mentally scarred from what happened, not enough time to rest for even a few moments, and now I'm here in Gensokyo to deal with some bastards from a… place… I've been to before"

"Uh, really… you could've phrased that a little better, you know" Youmu commented.

"How else do you want me to phrase it?"

"That's not the point"

Youmu and Damion continued talking, while the latter was trying to avoid talking about being to different worlds. Despite holding back info on other worlds, he was talking with Youmu a little about his life in 'other places' using the guise of human world experiences.

The conversation was stopped temporarily whenever a group of shadow mooks get in their way, and he'd take them down.

* * *

><p>~~ 10th floor, Mausoleum ~~<p>

The shadow boss was down to its last bit of health as Damion and Youmu arrived.

"You're finished!" Sanae shouted as she summoned her Persona for the last time with her battle against the shadow boss. Sanae's Persona, Konohana Sakuya, emerged from inside her once she summoned the Persona card and destroyed it.

The boss was now defeated, exploded in a shadowy darkness explosion. Then, Shadow Soga was left after the explosion, as a carbon copy of the ghost.

At that moment, Soga no Tojiko awoke from unconsciousness near where Sanae was.

Sadly, Damion and Youmu arrived too late to be of much help.

"So, a shadow version of a ghost is there" Damion commented as he saw Shadow Soga, Soga no Tojiko, and Sanae together.

Sanae turned to look at Youmu and Damion, but had the face of disappointment when she saw the half-ghost youkai.

"You're late, Youmu Konpaku. Had enough thinking hard about Yuyuko's interference already?" Sanae teased.

"Sh-shut up! I've got better things to worry about now" Youmu snapped back.

"Seems like you managed to take on the shadow without a Persona, and I commend you for that" Damion said to Sanae (They missed the last moment before Shadow Soga was defeated).

"What are you… wait, how do you know what those enemies are called, and how do you… AH!" Sanae screamed at the last moment when she saw the young man.

"What?" he asked.

"I know you! You're that guy who went in a coma on October fourth while trying to protect that kid from being murdered by Strega!" Sanae exclaimed.

"Huh? How the hell do you know that?" he asked her.

"I've played Kamen 3 Portable on the SPGS (Suny Portable Game System), with that character, Drake and…"

"Okay… wait, are you saying that… I was in a game being played in several worlds… IN THAT GAME!"

"What are you talking about?"

Damion realized he wasn't making much sense thinking about this, and gave up.

"Nevermind. The events you told me were indeed those that I experienced" he told her.

"I thought you looked familiar" Sanae muttered.

"Whatever… you managed to beat the 'shadow' of that ghost girl… without a Persona?"

"You idiot, I have two Personas, and both of them helped me defeat Shadow Soga"

"Alright then, I take it you know WHAT we need to do to fix the mess Soga's in?"

"That… well… I think we need to… you know… support Soga?" Sanae replied with some uncertainty.

"Yeah, keep going; I already know WHAT to do, but I'll let you have the spotlight if you know what to do since you have the Personas" he badgered the wind priestess.

"We, uh… support her?"

"That's very vague, and I don't think you've really thought much about that 'game' you played in detail"

Soga was very confused when she saw Sanae arguing with the young man. She didn't know what was going on, but became frightened when she turned to see her shadow self.

Youmu pointed out Soga's fear of her shadow self, which caused Sanae and Damion to stop arguing.

"Help her overcome her fear of her shadow self and help her come to terms to accept her shadow self. Since you defeated her shadow, YOU have the honors of helping out the ghost" he told Sanae sternly.

"Fine… you idiot" Sanae muttered before walking towards the awakened ghost.

She kneeled down and offered her hand to help the ghost girl get back on her… ghost tail.

"It's alright, Soga no Tojiko. You don't have to worry anymore about your friend's death; I will give her a proper funeral. If your friend were here, and saw you being afraid of your other self, she'd be upset" Sanae softly said to the ghost girl.

Soga was still afraid, but managed to put on a determined face for her.

"I'll… try…" Soga said to Sanae before walking up to her shadow self.

Soga looked back at Sanae, who somehow showed her support for Soga in her own way, then returned her attention to her shadow self.

"I know that Taoism… was supposed to grant immortality… by dying and coming back to life… but I've died and never gained that immortality. I hoped that… my friend… would accomplish that… but failed. My faith in Taoism was fading… and you were that side of me that tried to tell me I needed to continue believing in Taoism" Soga said, somewhat weakly, to her shadow self.

Shadow Soga merely nodded in response.

"I also know now… that I wasn't mentally ready to give up on a friend that died… but… at least I know that I was running away from the strength I needed to overcome this problem. You… really are me" Soga told her shadow self.

Once again, Shadow Soga nodded, but transformed into a Persona. This one looked like an armored man carrying a thunderbolt for a weapon (Take-Mikazuchi).

The Persona was sucked into a Persona card that materialized in front of it, and then the card fell down into Soga's mind. Then, Soga fainted.

Sanae sighed with relief.

"Good, now we need to know WHERE this friend of hers is buried so I can identify what caused her to die" Damion asked.

"Oh, that's just over there near the exit and…" Sanae started, but didn't get to finish as the necromancer walked towards the exit.

When he got to where the body of Soga's and Seiga's friend was buried, Damion focused his necromancy power into the ground where their friend was buried.

Unfortunately, he was irritated when the necromancy power flowed back into his arm.

"The hell! She ain't dead!" Damion said aloud.

His necromancy power only works on the physically dead HUMAN bodies, not youkai, not vampire, not ghost, not spirit, not Jiang Shi; only physically dead HUMAN bodies were able to be reanimated for him to control.

"How do you know that?" Sanae and Youmu asked him together.

"Necromancy is a fickle thing; mine only works on the dead human bodies. My power is limited to a general area near wherever I am, and I can only control the physically dead HUMAN bodies. As for how I know…"

"Wait, necromancy!" Sanae yelled in surprise.

"What? I'm just saying I tried to reanimate their friend and extract some information as to how she died and such" Damion retorted.

"You… being of evil! Get away from there!" Sanae hissed at him.

"Evil… huh? It's been a LONG time since I've done anything evil" the necromancer muttered.

"Don't defile Soga's and Seiga's friend's body with that evil magic!" Sanae shouted.

"You damned idiot! I was only…"

Before Damion could make his argument, the 'dead' body of the ghost's and hermit's friend burst out from the ground.

The necromancer jumped out of the way when he heard the ground break when the 'dead' girl popped out of the ground.

"hnnnngh… wow, that was a looong nap, zo" the girl said as she stretched her body after getting out of the ground.

"Who the hell are you?" Damion said to the girl.

"Eh? Me? It is rude to ask someone for their name without giving yours first, zo!" the girl shot back cheekily.

"Tch, Damion… that's my name"

"Mononobe no Futa (She tries to say 'Futo', but it sounded more like 'Futa' when she said this)… nice to meet you… I guess, zo" the girl replied, somewhat irritably.

"Futa…?" Damion asked, but then suddenly backed off, very uncomfortably.

The necromancer backed off with the childish imagination of Mononobe No 'Futa' being a Futa…

"Ah, sorry… I meant 'Futo', Mononobe no Futo!" Futo corrected herself a little late.

Sanae and Youmu caught on to the necromancer's nervousness, but Futo herself didn't understand. After correcting herself, the young man took a breath of relief.

"_Oh, are you afraid of Futanari?_" Sanae whispered in his ear, giggling a little.

"_Hey fucktard, don't rub it in!_" the necromancer whispered back angrily.

"Eh? What are you two talking about, zo?" Futo asked them.

Sanae was eager to spill the beans, but Damion had to shut Sanae's mouth by covering it.

"Oh, it's nothing, Futo-san… nothing at all" he said to her nervously.

Sanae's muffled talking wasn't helping much.

"Whatever, I'm just glad to finally be a Shikaisen, zo!" Mononobe no Futo said excitedly.

"Huh? Shikaisen? Your life energy was that of human, no sign of immortality, when I checked to see if you were 'dead'" Damion said to her.

"EH! What!" Futo screamed.

"Geez, these shikaisen wannabes are like prank calls to grim reapers and shinigami; all they really do is fake their 'death', which summon the reapers or shinigami, only to find out that it was a prank call of sorts. The only result is a 'shikaisen' being LEGALLY deceased without actually being dead" Damion scolded.

"Huh? All this time… we were being nuisances to Death, zo?"

"More like prank-calling the shinigami and grim reapers. It gets annoying after a while, but first-timers are let off with a warning, according to Death itself"

"Eh! Thou art a shinigami!"

This time, he smacked her shoulder comically.

"HELL NO! I'm just a necromancer who is a servant of the entity called Death!"

"Huh? Death? Thou know Death in person, zo?" Futo asked him.

"Yeah… but Death usually takes me to places that I'm needed… usually to deal with things that the grim reapers or shinigami can't handle, like the shadows I'm fighting here"

"Huh… and here I was thinking thou were a douchebag who don't know how to respect others, zo"

"Kind of hard to do that when the people I talk to can't understand or make the attempt to understand what I'm talking about"

"Now that's just self-centered thinking, zo!"

"What the hell is with your 'zo' thing?"

"It's a verbal tic, you dimwit! Don't thou know anything about these things?"

"… I'm still learning these things… like verbal tics and honorifics" Damion admitted.

"Geez, and here I was thinking thou were the type of guy who can't comprehend how important it is to show the respect people deserve"

"You just said something similar earlier"

"Eh! I did?"

This time, Sanae and Youmu interrupted the two of them.

"Hey, let's catch up to Reimu and Marisa; you two can talk more later!" Sanae told them as she picked up the unconscious Soga no Tojiko.

"Tch, just leave the shadows to me" Damion said to Sanae.

"Huh? Leave them to you? What good is that Persona, Castor, going to do for you? All you're good at is physical Persona skills and…"

"That ain't true… I've inherited his power when I came here, so don't think I'm the same as when I was in the Persona world, Sanae-san"

"Eh? What do you mean?" Sanae asked again.

"Dipshit, I mean I've got my friend's Wild Card power, but I need to earn the Personas my friend got when he had this power"

"His power? You mean Drake?"

"Yeah…" Damion frowned upon hearing his friend's name, "… one hell of a guy. Too bad he had to play the hero and…" however, he couldn't finish his sentence.

"however?" Sanae asked him.

"You probably already know since you 'played' the game I was supposedly in"

"Actually, no; I haven't gotten to January 31 yet. Power-training to fuse really powerful Personas in my game is hard enough, but…"

"Nevermind then; I won't tell you how it ended"

With that, Damion quieted down. Sanae was curious, yet stern at the same time.

"Hey, we can talk later about all this, but let's catch up to Reimu and Marisa" Youmu interrupted Sanae and Damion.

Damion and Sanae nodded in agreement, but Sanae whispered '_pervert_' to the necromancer.

Fortunately, he was unable to hear the insult.

Mononobe no Futo picked up the unconscious Soga no Tojiko and followed the three fighters. Miyako Yoshika was also trailing behind, following Youmu who was carrying her unconscious 'master'.

* * *

><p>~~ 15th floor, mausoleum ~~<p>

Reimu and Marisa were already confronting the big boss behind this incident.

"Damn it, of all the things to happen, why you? That hypocrite, Hijiri Byakuren was bad enough with her idealistic notions of coexisting humans and youkai" Reimu growled at her opponent.

The opponent in question was a female saint with what looked like large earphones.

"Why me? I've been resurrected, only to fail the art of becoming a shikaisen. What is wrong with you anyway?" the saint-ess snapped at them.

"What's wrong with US! You're causing problems all over Gensokyo with these divine spirits all over the place!" Reimu shouted at her.

"Hmph, you desire nothing but donations and a life of lethargy like that comic of a lazy orange fat cat…" the saint-ess said condemningly to Reimu, then turned to Marisa, "…and you don't care about anyone but yourself, witch! All you do is steal for the sheer fun of it"

"Hey, that's not true-ze!" Marisa retorted, "I borrow things, then return them when I die"

"Same thing; you two only live for yourselves and reluctantly help others when you aren't given any choice in the matters!" the saint-ess snapped at them.

"Oi, we're not perfect, so why are you complaining about US when you have problems of your own-ze?" Marisa countered.

"Just go back to sleep so we can restore peace with the divine spirits already, Toyosatomimi no Miko!" Reimu shouted at the saint-ess.

This demand pissed off the saint-ess. "Your insolence will cost you your lives one of these days. Just accept the truth and get out of here; I'm tired of your stupidity and reluctance to accept some simple truths!"

* * *

><p>~~ 12th floor… mausoleum ~~<p>

Damion was fighting off some shadows with Sanae while trying to keep Futo, Youmu, and Miyako safe from the shadows. Sanae was summoning Konohana Sakuya (Persona), and occasionally switching to the other one she has, Jiraiya (Persona). Damion, on the other hand, was desperately trying to avoid using Lillim for obvious reasons.

"_Shit, if only there weren't girls around, then I'd use Lillim to wipe the floor with all of these damned shadows_" the necromancer thought to himself as he was fighting off the shadows.

His current active Persona was Oberon, a male fairy-like Persona.

"Oberon, huh? I'd beat you with my other Persona if we were fighting each other" Sanae jeered at the necromancer.

Obviously, she had some beef against him, for job-related reasons.

"This ain't the time to be fighting one another; we're supposed to be solving this incident!" Damion yelled after summoning Oberon to use a 'zio' attack on a shadow enemy, killing it.

"Says the evil one who can't keep his hands off every girl he meets"

"Damn it, Sanae, you remind me too much of Kat, an angel I keep fighting every now and then simply because she sees me as evil just like that"

"Necromancers are evil, greedy, manipulative, and ambitious to take over the world. I will NEVER let you do any of that to Gensokyo!"

"Will you shut your fucking mouth already! I'm not THAT type of necromancer. Those ones are extremists who were already evil and around whenever the general public seeks one out. There are good ones, the same way that the terrorist stereotype of one group of people doesn't mean all of that group of people aren't terrorists" he retorted.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Youmu shouted from behind.

Sanae and Damion stopped, looked behind them, and saw Youmu's pissed off face.

"Stay out of this; you're being controlled by him, Youmu-san!" Sanae said to Youmu.

"Hello… what part of 'physically dead' did you not understand about my power?" the necromancer reminded her.

"Hey, Youmu's a half-ghost, and I KNOW you can control ghosts as well as the dead!" Sanae yelled at him.

"You dipshit! I told you my necromancy isn't perfect; I can only control the PHYSICALLY DEAD HUMAN BODIES, not Jiang Shi, not half-dead, not vampire, not half-ghost, not even ghost. Only physically dead human bodies!" Damion yelled back at Sanae.

"Oh really? Prove to me that you aren't controlling Youmu!"

"Damn it, Sanae. Why must you be so insistent about me being so evil that I haven't even done anything remotely evil to begin with? I'm a necromancer, with very limited powers. I can't control anything that isn't a dead human corpse. My power is limited in range, weak to holy and light magic (weakness comes with necromancy), and I haven't even thought about anything remotely evil yet!"

"STOP ALREADY!" Youmu shouted once again.

Once again, the wind priestess and the necromancer both stopped to look at the half-ghost.

"You two art nothing but children fighting over something stupid, zo" Mononobe no Futo commented as though trying to say 'what a bunch of children'.

"I'd LIKE to stop, but things are difficult for me with her slapping the stereotype on me" he argued to the half-ghost and human, "… as well as the fact that I have no intention of any of the stereotypical behavior of one…"

"Enough, Damion. No more talking about this…" Youmu interrupted him, then turned to Sanae, "… and you, Sanae, forget about all this until this incident is over; you can fight him afterwards"

Sanae and Damion both nodded in agreement this time, and stayed quiet.

"Their fighting almost makes me think they are made for one another, zo" Futo joked.

The people in question ignored Futo's joke and focused more on fending off the shadows.

* * *

><p>~~ 15th floor mausoleum ~~<p>

Reimu and Marisa were now weaving in and out of tiny danmaku bullets (Avoiding them, obviously). While this was happening, Toyosatomimi no Miko was growing what looked like three large, light-based, spade-shaped symbols behind her. All three 'spades' were shooting tiny danmaku bullets.

"Damn, these bullets are almost hard to see-ze" Marisa commented as she side-stepped to the left, avoiding a bullet.

Reimu was, as usual, dodging the bullets like it were nothing. "It's not that hard once you know how to multitask" she said to Marisa.

"Enough with this farce and admit your sins; you can't hide your desires from me" Miko said condemningly.

The saint-ess shot another salvo of arrow-shaped bullets, each one then exploding into smaller, blue circle-shaped bullets.

"Tch, these bullets may be small, but our ability to dodge and counter is superior to these bullet shots!" Reimu grunted.

Reimu had no problems weaving in and out of the curtain fire, but Marisa was slightly lagging and barely grazing a few bullets. The saint-ess definitely had the upper hand against the witch, but evenly matched against Reimu. The shrine maiden was throwing back homing amulets and sealing needles in retaliation whenever she found an opening between the bullets.

* * *

><p>~~ 13th floor mausoleum ~~<p>

Along the way, several corpses were littered on the ground. Most of them were human males, and a few were human females.

The necromancer did what they naturally do, and put his energy out to them.

His hand glowed dark purple, then he slammed the energy-enhanced hand onto the ground. Upon doing so, a rune-covered circle expanded from the spot where he slammed his fist into the ground. Soon, the dark purple energy encroached the area and infused itself with the corpses.

It took a moment for things to get going, but the corpses eventually started moving under his control.

"_Well, these corpses know more about this danmaku thing than I do_" he thought to himself.

"HEY! I told you not to desecrate the deceased!" Sanae yelled at the young man.

He turned to the shrine maiden of miracles, and yelled back, "Hey! A necromancer without a small group of minions under his or her control would simply be a mage. Besides, I can't control the living; mind control is another type of magic I refuse to study for personal and ethical reasons"

"Just leave them alone!"

"Ever played a strategy game like chess? You NEED spare pieces to play the game a little safer. That concept also applies to necromancers"

"Oh, so if I took down your 'slaves', I practically beat you. That's it, huh?" Sanae taunted.

"Not quite; you would've beaten their minions, but not the necromancer him/herself"

Another moment of bickering between the shrine maiden of miracles and the necromancer ensued. If he hadn't recovered his memory of being a necromancer, maybe he and Sanae would've been friends. Their bickering, as usual, stopped when Youmu and Futo yelled at them for arguing like children.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Youmu shouted once again at the two arguing over corpses.

The 'minions' got themselves up and followed the group of four (and two unconscious ones being carried). There were only five 'minions' anyway.

"Sanae, I told thee to leave the necromancer alone. He's helping us right now, isn't he? Isn't that good enough?" Futo sternly said to the miracle shrine maiden.

Sanae, in response, fell silent. She wasn't going to be convinced that he's helping with dark intentions, and he's still having a hard time believing her reluctance to accept facts.

"_That imbecile is obviously trying to win our trust for his plan to take over Gensokyo. Good thing I'm not believing a word he's said_" Sanae thought to herself.

Damion summoned one of his newly-acquired Personas, Jack Frost, out to take care of some shadow mooks.

"Hee-ho!" the persona jeered as it froze the area around the shadows to form an ice chunk and crack on the enemies.

"Now what are you up to? Summoning THAT Persona now of all times isn't very nice" Sanae snapped. This contradicted her real feelings towards seeing the Persona; she LOVED the Jack Bros line of Personas (Jack Frost, Pyro Jack, King Frost, and Black Frost).

Youmu wasn't affected by the sight of the cute snowman-like Persona, but Futo was. The self-proclaimed shikaisen gently put down Soga no Tojiko and jumped at the Persona.

Sadly, she went right through the Persona as if it was a ghost (Transparent, but they don't affect people that don't have Personas, nor can they be physically touched by non-Persona users), and crashed into the cave wall.

"Uh, yeah… Personas aren't exactly familiars on the battlefield; they're summoned, attack, and disappear back into the owner's mind" the necromancer told the self-proclaimed shikaisen.

"Ow!" Futo groaned as she reluctantly went back to pick up and carry the unconscious Soga no Tojiko.

* * *

><p>~~ 15th floor mausoleum ~~<p>

The battle was now beginning to intensify, as two more 'spades' grew on the top-left and top-right part of the pattern behind the saint-ess. The amount of magical bullets almost doubled with the extra 'spade'.

Still, Reimu had no issues dodging the extra bullets, though Marisa was having a hard time keeping up. There were fewer blind spots this time around, which Reimu took advantage of, though she was urging Marisa to follow her movements.

Marisa was firing back with red and blue lasers with magic 'cannon' shells that exploded upon impact.

However, there were no blind spots for the next round of bullets.

"**Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal!**" Reimu declared with a spell card in hand.

Several LARGE orbs of multi-colored light emerged from inside the shrine maiden and rushed over to the saint-ess. The orbs exploded on her while also clearing most of the bullets that would've taken down Reimu and Marisa.

Miko's concentration faltered for a moment upon being hit by the spell card, temporarily stopping her assault with her magic bullets. This gave Reimu and Marisa a temporary safe moment to rest a little.

The faltered concentration eventually broke after ten seconds, and her curtain fire continued again.

"You won't get another shot like that again, lazy shrine maiden!" Miko said through contempt.

"**Love Sign: Master Spark!**" Marisa yelled, pulling her mini-hakkero from under her hat.

She pointed the object at the saint-ess and focused her magic on a large beam. The spell itself was strong, but slowed her movement to a crawl. This also cleared most of the bullets within the reach and range of the beam.

The attack hit Miko like a ton of bricks, and blasted her to the ground.

She hit the floor hard, and her assault halted.

"Why… why won't you accept your flaws and fix them?" Miko asked them as she helped herself get back on her feet.

"**The bigger question is why I can't better MYSELF first!**" a voice, similar to Miko's, came from around the room.

This sudden claim surprised the three danmaku participants. Said participants also stopped shooting at one another.

"Who's that!" Miko yelled.

As if on cue, 'Shadow' Toyosatomimi no Miko appeared from the darkness of the place to stand in front of her.

"Psh, yeah right. I'm always trying to better myself by helping to better others" Miko proclaimed to her 'shadow' self.

"**Is that really what you desire? To help others? You need to help yourself FIRST before you help others**" 'Shadow' Miko said to its original condemningly.

"Whoah, I know what's going to happen here, and it isn't nice" Reimu muttered as she saw the two Mikos begin their argument.

"It's like that new guy said… doppelganger attack" Marisa added.

"Doppelganger?" Reimu asked Marisa.

"It's what he called them instead of those 'shadows' for lack of a simple explanation of what they were"

"Whatever. The rules of battle change now to magic and melee against those shadows"

"Really? That's kind of convenient"

"No, not really; when fighting shadows, you fight for your life. Spell card rules aren't worth anything to them"

"Oh"

At this moment, the group of four (and the two unconscious girls being carried) arrived on the scene.

"Ah, Reimu and Marisa… we meet again" the necromancer said to the two.

Upon hearing his voice, Reimu turned around sternly. Marisa, on the other hand, hid behind Reimu.

"Just in time, Damion. You're better at this than I am, so get to it" Reimu told him.

"Wait, why is he the one resolving this incident now! Reimu, he's an evil necromancer hell-bent on taking over Gensokyo!" Sanae interrupted.

For the umpteenth time this incident, Damion got pissed at the wind priestess.

"Damn it, Sanae! I told you I have no interest in taking over a world! Yes, I'm a necromancer, but that doesn't mean I'm like the evil ones! I keep telling you there ARE good necromancers, but they are rare" he shouted to the miracle shrine maiden.

"Huh, a necromancer? I could care less what he does unless it concerns the safety of Gensokyo" Reimu commented, "…but focus on those two she-saints first"

The necromancer sighed. "Sanae, I know from experience that this isn't going to end the way I'm praying it would, so let's put our Personas to the test against whoever the hell that is"

This time, Sanae couldn't argue when she saw Miko arguing with her shadow. So, she nodded.

"Good luck, thy would need it against Miko-sama" Futo said to them.

"Right… Just stay back with Youmu-san and protect those two unconscious girls…" he told Futo, then turned to Reimu and Marisa, "… and now it's our turn to handle this, so please get back to Youmu-san and Futo-san. Reimu, I know you are able to battle, but…"

"… I'm also going to fight" Reimu interrupted.

"Same here, ze!" Marisa added, holding her hat as though ready for battle.

"Marisa… answer this honestly; do you have a strong heart?" Damion asked the witch.

"Yeah, my health is good. Why?" Marisa replied.

"That's not what he meant; he meant whether you can accept facts without losing your sanity" Reimu clarified.

"Oh, that? Sure… I guess, ze" Marisa answered.

"Alright, what about your mental strength?"

"Mental? What do you mean?"

"Can you handle facts that may make you question reality or sanity? Are you able to comprehend complicated situations?"

"Sure… if I try at least, ze"

"Now last… what about your beliefs? Do you continue to believe in what you believe in despite what others tell you?" Damion asked the question this time.

"Yeah. Why are you asking me these silly questions?" Marisa asked back.

"Just checking to make sure your mindset is capable of granting you the ability to fight back against the shadows"

"Eh? There are rules they play by?"

"Four fighters in a group, but sometimes enemies may fight in a group of five… at most. Personas and Shadows use SPIRIT energy instead of magic, though CERTAIN magic spells can hurt shadows, though you need to know the shadows' elemental properties. Also, some mindsets set you up with different elemental properties" he began.

"Wait, Spirit Energy? What's that?"

"Uh… it's energy from faith and the soul. As for the specs, Sanae and Reimu probably already know more about spirit energy than I do in terms of explaining it"

"Fine, ze. Let's battle already!"

"Alright, I'll be telling you about the dangers to be ready for and its elemental properties once I've scanned it" the necromancer said to the girls.

"Right" Reimu and Marisa agreed.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER<p>

(A/N: Next chapter is the battle and conclusion to the main Ten Desires arc. EXTRA stage and Mami coming the chapter after. I know it's cruel to leave a cliffhanger like this, but I'm really trying to get these chapters out faster. Also, the chapter would've headed into 'too long for me to work on' territory)


	9. Ten Desires Nexus

Author's note: going to drop the disclaimers since it isn't going to do me any good. Also, sorry about the cliffhanger, I only remembered there's going to be a filler section after the incident is resolved, and then the next chapter is going to deal with Mamizou Futatsuiwa EXTRA battle, and Damion's return to Eientei.

This chapter was delayed because of some oversights and needed some corrections for continuity. More details at the end notes.

* * *

><p>~~ Unknown Location ~~<p>

"I keep telling you, he might 'accidentally' taint your princess if he gets too close to her, or her getting too close to him. What if he does the impossible tasks and succeeds? He'll have no choice but to marry her" Yukari teased her acquaintances.

"Yeah right. They're called 'impossible' for a reason; he can't do them without resorting to cheap tricks and deception" the first acquaintance retorted.

"Oh, really? I believe he might have a chance if he knows the right methods. The bigger question, however, is whether or not he, or she, will gather the courage to take on the tasks or offer the tasks respectively" Yukari added.

"She wouldn't dare give your 'champion' the chance" the first acquaintance yelled at the gap youkai.

"Who says I'll let her have that chance? That's assuming I find those 'things' that are popping up recently to distract them from in time"

"You sick, twisted, evil, old hag!"

Upon that threat, a gap opened inside the first acquaintance's stomach area, and Yukari reached into a gap she opened next to her. Once her hand was inside, she grabbed her first acquaintance's literal heart and gave it a squeeze.

The first acquaintance doubled over, gasping for air. Having your heart grabbed and squeezed isn't exactly fun to experience; rather, it's extremely dangerous to one's heath. Who knows where Yukari's hands have been touching before meeting with her acquaintances.

"D-d-damn you, Yukari Yakumo!" the first acquaintance cursed.

"Listen, sister, calm down and talk this over with Yukari. I'm sure she's telling us this for a reason" the second acquaintance said to her writhing younger sister.

"Oh, at least the elder of you is smart enough to talk things over instead of spouting insults that really hurt" Yukari agreed, and then let up on the squeezing of the first acquaintance's heart.

Upon being released, the first acquaintance was breathing a lot easier. Although, she was trying to physically recover from that dangerous moment.

"You… better be trying to tell us you'd help us get the princess back to us, or so help me I will rip your…" The first acquaintance threatened, but was stopped by Yukari grabbing her heart once again.

"You'll what?" Yukari teased.

"Ugh… damn it!" the first acquaintance growled.

"So… why is it that you're telling us about a common man being friendly with our princess?" the second acquaintance asked the gap youkai.

"Straight to the point, I see. It's nothing big, but I'd like to see how you'd react to the news of him being able to change your princess for the better" Yukari chuckled.

"'For the better'? In what way, you damned mummy!" the younger sister asked menacingly.

Upon being told the insult, Yukari's squeeze on the younger sister's heart intensified. This left the younger sister to be in further pain.

"From what I've gathered, he's teaching her about the other side of life outside royalty and luxury. Perhaps this might cause Kaguya to think about others for a change?" Yukari told the elder sister.

"Oh, that does sound interesting" the elder sister agreed.

"Sister! Kaguya's innocence must be retained, and…" the first acquaintance objected, but was interrupted by her sister.

"It's alright, sister. I'm curious as to this development myself. If he succeeds, maybe we can be led by a more considerate ruler… if Kaguya-sama ever returns that is"

"Good, now that that's settled, I'd best head back to check on the incident to check on him and make sure he doesn't croak before he can turn your princess's life around for the better" Yukari said to the sisters.

Before she gapped herself out, she retracted her hand from inside a gap she made that opened inside the first acquaintance's stomach. Surprisingly, there was NO blood leaking out from inside the gap; how that worked was anyone's guess.

Once Yukari was out of the picture, the sisters left the room, the younger sister heading to the infirmary while the older sister rushed to get herself some peaches.

* * *

><p>~~ 15th floor mausoleum ~~<p>

"**Why would you deny me what I really am? After all, I AM YOU!**" 'Shadow' Miko said to her original.

The realization of this truth was difficult for the saint-ess to handle; rather, it was near-impossible for her to accept.

"No, you can't be… you may have the same desires as I do, but that doesn't mean you can impersonate me with such lies!" Toyosatomimi no Miko said to her 'shadow'.

"**Heheh, come now… just accept the truth and admit that you put up that face to help others, yet show the opposite when you yourself need help**"

"No, I always show my smile for others' sake. There's no way I need help from an imposter!"

"**Oh, but I keep telling you this: I AM YOU!**"

"Impossible; I wouldn't spout lies to people for my own benefit, nor would I lie to save a life. You're a phony that's wearing my face, at best!"

"**Just give it up already; no matter how many times you try to deny it, you simply cannot deny the fact that those are really what you desire: someone to look after you and your friends**"

This one fact made Miko stagger for a moment.

"No… that's not true…"

"**Oh, but it is! You cannot listen to other people's arguments about their desires, no matter how hard you try. Why? It's because you keep telling yourself 'they're lying and cannot accept the truth'**"

"No! That's not… YOU'RE NOT ME!" Miko finally yelled.

There was silence in the room for a moment.

'Shadow' Miko started chuckling like mad upon being told this. Damion and the fighting girls readied themselves for the inevitable fight.

"**That's right… I'm me now, not some worthless hypocrite who calls herself a saint!**" 'Shadow' Miko said to her shadow self.

Toyosatomimi no Miko simply let her 'shadow' speak as though waiting for the 'lies' to stop.

"**Just DIE!**" 'Shadow' Miko yelled.

At that point, the darkness and shadows nearby started gathering into 'Shadow' Miko like a haze being sucked into a vacuum.

The transformation this 'shadow' underwent was rather different from the rest of the shadows Damion, and to an extent Sanae has seen. Rather, her 'shadow' was engulfed and hidden in the shadows and darkness.

'Shadow' Miko transformed from her carbon-copy of her original to that of a large, unusual butterfly-like demon. 'Shadow' Miko didn't turn into a cocoon during the transformation; she evolved her body using the shadows as an energy source, so to speak.

Two large white wings quickly burst out of the mass of shadows and darkness. These wings had different-colored spade-shaped leaf designs on them. The body itself was black in color with similar-looking spade-shaped leaves on them from the wings. What's odd was that the body looked like it was merged with 'Shadow' Miko's carbon-copy form of its original. Two black antennae were on the head of this shadow's head. The arms and legs grew out to proportions fitting of the shadow's size; the arms and legs were human-like.

The 'shadow', upon finishing its transformation, lunged at her original.

It never got the chance, as two things happened at this moment: the first was Toyosatomimi fainting upon her shadow's transformation (shadows going berserk near its original saps said original's consciousness), and the second was Sanae getting between 'Shadow' Miko and the shadow's original.

"You're going to have to go through us if you want to kill your original" Sanae said to 'Shadow' Miko defiantly.

It was also then that Reimu, Marisa, and Damion got behind Sanae to fight.

* * *

><p>## Fight against 'Shadow' Miko ##<p>

"**I am a shadow, the TRUE self… Why bother protecting this nuisance that refuses to listen to others?**" 'Shadow' Miko asked the four of them.

"She may be annoying and a bit of a loser for refusing to listen, but that can be changed with the right opportunity" Reimu declared.

"That, and actually listening to other people when they talk, ze" Marisa added.

"Marisa, that kind of goes with going through the right opportunity" Damion corrected the witch.

"Really? I thought it was different, ze" the 'ordinary' witch shot back.

"**Oh, the right opportunity? That's only a fantasy we saints can't have the luxury of experiencing. Our job is to guide people, not be guided**" 'Shadow' Miko snapped back.

"You obviously don't know the first thing about religion; it's helping people find something to believe in!" Reimu shouted back.

"**Why should I listen to a lowly shrine priestess preach to me about how to do my job?**" 'Shadow' Miko replied.

"It's because I learned that guiding people one way isn't the right thing to do. Another shrine maiden taught me this lesson" Reimu answered, glancing towards Sanae for a moment as though hinting to her opponent who she was referring to.

"**Prove it to me then, prove to me that my way is flawed with your actions!**" 'Shadow' Miko declared.

Damion started the battle by casting 'scan' on the shadow.

Various information became clear to him about 'Shadow' Miko:

_She was born into high status, and was regarded as a genius for problem-solving. Her problem-solving fame started with servants that worked for her parents and her, and those servants spoke highly of her when she surprised them with the advice that was just right for them. Eventually, the talk turned to praise and regards to her as saintly. She was ambitious to change the world for the better, but lacked the opportunity and influence to do so. Though, she eventually touched upon the meaning of life and death for humanity. This caused the genius some distress when she asked herself about why humans are forced to die eventually._

_Then came Seiga Kaku in her life; she taught Miko all that she could about Taoism, but Miko was most interested in the immortality that was supposed to have been bestowed to followers. Seiga's lessons in Taoism seemed like the answer to Miko's dilemma of life and death, so she asked Seiga for the details on how to obtain that immortality._

_When Miko confided her ambitions to Seiga, the hermit suggested spreading Buddhism to the people. This seemed like another answer and a sign from the gods to Miko, and she did just that. Seiga taught Miko a little about Buddhism, and continued her studies from Buddhist monks. In secret, she practiced Taoism to obtain the immortality that was to be obtained._

_Eventually, Miko began to use her influence to spread Buddhism to the people around her. This worked well for a little while, until some important politicians approached her to tell her the reality of Buddhism and why it wouldn't work. Heartbroken, she started to hate Buddhism from that day on, but continued to spread the religion with a fake smile._

_Legends were created about her from her followers of Buddhism, but Miko herself wasn't about to give up the influence she built from preaching Buddhism to the people. Soon, she was able to achieve superhuman abilities through experimenting with Taoism._

_Sadly, her belief of Taoism was beginning to decline when she realized her health was deteriorating quickly from Taoist practices. One of her followers, Mononobe no Futo, accidentally found out Miko's ambition of immortality, and tried to convince Miko to stay as a Buddhist. Toyosatomimi no Miko managed to convince her follower to try one act of Taoism for her._

_Futo was reluctant, but agreed to be a test subject for obtaining immortality by 'dying' to become a shikaisen. Then, Miko went to sleep in the hopes that she, too, would attempt to become a shikaisen._

_From the shadows, Buddhist monks discovered this secret side of Miko and placed seals in the mausoleum where Futo and Miko had 'died'._

_A lot of time has passed, and eventually the legends that Miko left behind became nothing but lies and folk-tales; eventually, she was forgotten by the people she supposedly led._

_By chance, a certain youkai brought the mausoleum, Seiga, and Seiga's Jiang Shi, into Gensokyo. It was also by chance that the mausoleum was buried underneath a temple that was discovered by Buddhist monks of Gensokyo. One of these monks was female with gradient hair. Sadly, this monk was one of the few that sealed away Miko. Toyosatomimi was aware of when the mausoleum was moved to Gensokyo, and heard the voice of that one female monk._

_What Miko heard was the name 'Hijiri' as the name of the female monk that sealed her. Ironically, the other monks were talking about sealing the female monk named 'Hijiri' somewhere so that she cannot undo the seal that she placed on Miko's resting place._

_Since then, Miko waited for the day she would be unsealed to extract revenge on the one named 'Hijiri'._

'Shadow' Miko's elemental properties were rather spread out; weak to fire-based Persona skills, resists ice and electricity, nulls wind, immune to light and dark instant-death skills, but susceptible to (NOT WEAK TO, BUT TAKES SOMEWHAT MORE DAMAGE FROM) physical attacks.

"Alright, this one is weak to Agi, resists Bufu and Zio, nulls Garu, Hama, and Mudo, and susceptible to physical attacks" Damion reported to the team.

Sanae understood right away what he meant, but Reimu and Marisa were clueless except for the physical attack part.

"What were those spells you said?" Marisa asked him.

"Let me translate that; weak to fire, resists ice and electricity, immune to wind, light and dark, and susceptible to physical" Sanae said to Marisa.

"Oh, right. Just blast it with fire, huh?" Marisa asked her.

"Pretty much, though fire magic won't knock it down unless it's from Persona skills; Hitting it with Agi spells should knock it down to give us an all-out attack opportunity, but I doubt we'll get too many opportunities to do that" Damion answered for her.

"Agi, huh? I'd better learn that spell and…"

"You can't, Marisa. Some researchers tried to get magicians to replicate the effects of Persona skills, only to fail miserably. Only Personas, and people with the 'potential', can use the skills" Damion interrupted the witch.

"Whatever, I'm ready!" Marisa declared.

Sanae, knowing what to do already, summoned her Persona, Konohana Sakuya, by crushing the tarot card that appeared when she 'summoned' the card.

The Persona twirled once and let out a medium-size fireball from its left hand onto the 'shadow'. The fireball hit its target, and caused it to drop to the ground (100% reduced to 95% health for Shadow Miko).

"Time for an all-out attack!" Sanae declared.

"Right!" Damion nodded.

The four fighters rushed in to attack relentlessly; Reimu and Sanae were slamming their goheis on the shadow, Marisa using her brook as a weapon, and Damion kicking the downed enemy (95% reduced to 87% health for Shadow Miko).

After a while, 'Shadow' Miko's wings started flapping, creating a gust of wind blowing back the fighters a few feet back.

Reimu's turn, and she went in for a fire-type spell (A/N: Spells and skills are different, technically speaking, as Skills from Personas use SPIRIT points whereas Spells use MAGIC). Conjuring a fireball spell in her right hand, she managed to make it grow to medium size before throwing it at the 'shadow' boss (87% reduced to 82% health for 'Shadow' Miko)

Shadow Miko shrugged the attack off like it was nothing, despite the 5% damage she took.

Now it was Marisa's turn to strike.

"Love Sign: MASTER SPARK!" Marisa declared, pulling out her mini-hakkero from under her hat and pointing the rune-covered wooden block at the shadow boss. A large beam of magic shot out from the mini-hakkero and struck the shadow boss square in the torso (Stats: large, electric magic SPELL with 70% chance of paralysis; pretty much a Ziodyne with better chance of paralysis). Despite being hit by the spell, 'Shadow' Miko was still raring to go (82% reduced to 78% health for Shadow Miko (was 7%, but resistance reduced the damage in half)).

It was finally the shadow boss's turn for battle.

"**Don't bother trying to justify your causes for your sins and desires; you are doomed to damnation to begin with**" 'Shadow' Miko said to her opposition.

"You talk like you're perfection, but most everyone knows there's no such thing as perfection. Hell, not even GOD is perfect, despite popular belief!" Damion shouted back.

"Damn right… even though I have no idea what he means, ze!" Marisa added.

"**Hah! You claim perfection doesn't exist, yet you have no sufficient evidence or examples to prove this. I hear your imperfection, your deepest desires, and all your sins. Don't point fingers at others when you yourself are also at fault for the same thing!**" 'Shadow' Miko declared.

"I hate to admit this, but he's right; Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya are two gods I manage, and they're not perfect. Despite this, they are worshipped for other reasons besides the belief of perfection!" Sanae added.

"That, and humans' beliefs in god is also flawed because we humans are flawed" Reimu added.

"I don't get it, but I screw up a lot, ze. That doesn't stop me from trying though" Marisa said to the shadow boss.

"**So be it. Your desires will only lead you down the path of damnation. I offered salvation, but you turn away from it with claims that salvation itself is flawed**" 'Shadow' Miko threatened.

The butterfly-like shadow boss began flapping its wings while preparing a gust of wind, Garu skill.

"Heads-up, wind-type Garula skill incoming" Damion warned the team, but Sanae already knew this because of reasons that shouldn't be mentioned.

Reimu and Marisa nodded and braced themselves for the attack, only a few seconds too late as the Garula skill formed around Reimu. The wind skill lifted the red-white shrine maiden in the air and dropped her a second later (100% reduced to 90% health for Reimu).

Reimu picked herself off the ground and regained her composure.

Damion's head flashed once, and he brought his evoker to his head once more and pulled the trigger. The next Persona he summoned was a pumpkin head with an indigo cape and a glove holding a lantern. This Persona was Pyro Jack.

"Hee-ho!" the persona shouted.

"_Agilao_"

The fire from inside the lantern it was holding formed another one outside its lantern, only about double the size. Pyro Jack spun once and released the medium-size fireball at the shadow boss, which exploded on impact and singed the butterfly-like shadow boss's left wing a little. In addition to this, said boss fell to the ground, defenseless (78% reduced to 71% health for Shadow Miko (was 5%, but weakness multiplied damage by 1.5)).

"Let's do this, ze!" Marisa shouted.

Without confirmation, the four of them rushed in and beat the shadow boss the best they could for a while (71% reduced to 63% health for Shadow Miko).

Once the shadow boss recovered enough, she flapped her wings, creating a harmless gust that pushed back her attackers.

Now it was Sanae's turn. She kept her Persona, Konohana Sakuya, as her active Persona (She has another, but hasn't used it yet). This turn, she went and summoned her Persona for another Agilao skill. The fireball was conjured in Konohana Sakuya's hands and then thrown at the shadow, knocking it down and singeing the other wing slightly (63% reduced to 56% health for Shadow Miko).

"Alright, go!" Reimu yelled at her teammates.

For the second time in a row, the four fighters rushed in and beat the shadow senseless in an all-out attack (56% reduced to 48% health for Shadow Miko).

Like last turn, she flapped her wings to regain her battle-stance and push back her opponents at the same time.

Reimu went next, and cast a spell called 'Protect' on the team. A hexagon-pattern barrier surrounded each of the fighters opposing 'Shadow' Miko. (Physical attacks do half-damage to the team).

Marisa's turn was up.

"Hey, my spell… I thought you said it wouldn't work, ze!" Marisa shouted to Damion.

"I said SOME spells would work, but I didn't know spell cards could damage them; I'm still new to these specific mechanics behind spell cards to shadows and the like" Damion shouted back.

"Oh… I thought you knew all that"

"I'm not, now make your move, please"

Marisa sighed and went for a fire spell. It was no problem for her, being a self-proclaimed 'ordinary' witch who's actually skilled in magic. She conjured a medium-size fireball in her hand and threw it at the butterfly-like shadow boss. It wasn't a Persona skill, but it did leave some damage behind (48% reduced to 41% health for 'shadow' Miko)

Now it was the shadow boss's turn.

"**Even if you desire pleasure, comfort, affection from others, to be needed by others, material possessions, or even servitude to another, you cannot achieve salvation or happiness from those things**" Shadow Miko said to the fighters.

"Yeah, I wish to be needed by others, but that ain't my reason for getting involved in this world; it's just my job to keep stability in places I am sent to. I serve Death for that reason, mainly because my former master, a god of time and space, transferred me to Death of all universes" Damion answered the shadow boss.

"I serve Suwako-sama because I'm the priestess of her shrine, but I also accommodate for Kanako-sama, even though the two goddesses bicker over every stupid thing. Despite this, they occasionally grant miracles or divine advice to those that put their faith in us" Sanae added.

"I also have my faults, but I don't let them hold me back" Reimu interjected.

"I got nothing to say here, ze" Marisa mentioned.

"**Then take my offer for salvation and abolish your desires!**"

"You don't get it yet? Our desires make us stand out from one another. Without desires, we wouldn't be able to continue living or have meaning in life" Damion told her.

"**Says the imperfect necromancer whose desire is redemption and forgiveness from his friends who he murdered**"

"Easy on the personal attack; I was forced to do so and wasn't given a choice; you, on the other hand, have the choice to do what you wanted"

At this point, Reimu, Marisa, Youmu, Futo, and Sanae turned to glare at him from what she said, and he admitted to.

"You did WHAT!" Sanae and Reimu screamed together.

"Long story… too long. I'm not proud of it, but that's what I was forced to do" he admitted bluntly.

"**That's right, backstabbing your friends for your own survival, even though you later learned WHY you had to; still a despicable act nonetheless. You can redeem yourself by forgetting about them and take up priesthood**" 'Shadow' Miko told him.

"Not interested; I've always preferred being slightly evil with connections to neutral and good. I respect different religions, but turn away from them once I'm being backed in a corner and told to convert; I hated that" the necromancer shot back to the shadow boss.

"The hell you are; you're the type to take over Gensokyo if you wanted to!" Sanae shouted at him.

"Put a lid on it, Sanae! I'm not interested in Gensokyo, nor will I ever be interested! Death wouldn't approve of it anyway" he shouted back at the wind priestess.

"SHUT UP AND FIGHT THAT FAKER!" Futo yelled at Sanae and Damion before they could begin another argument.

Once again, the two stopped and turned to face 'Shadow' Miko.

The shadow boss in question already prepared a vicious attack; Magarudyne.

A large amount of wind gathered between the shadow boss and her opponents into a mini twister of sorts. Then, the mass of wind gathered dispersed in all directions, creating shockwaves of sorts that spread out from the twister.

(100% reduced to 86% health for Damion; 100% reduced to 86% health for Marisa; 90% reduced to 76% health for Reimu, and 100% reduced to 86% health for Sanae)

All four fighters got back on their feet a few seconds later and regained their composures.

Damion's turn; he summoned his Persona, Pyro Jack once again for another Agilao skill. The attack hit, knocking down the shadow boss (41% reduced to 34% health for Shadow Miko).

"All-out attack!" Sanae shouted.

Once again, the team rushed in to beat the shadow boss senseless 34% reduced to 27% health for Shadow Miko).

Once she recovered enough of her strength, she flapped her wings to create a harmless gust to push back her opponents and return to battle-ready pose.

"She's getting weak; we're two-thirds of the way done" Damion told the team.

"That's assuring, ze" Marisa commented.

Sanae summoned her Persona, Konohana Sakuya, to use Agilao skill once again. This caused the shadow to be knocked down due to her weakness (27% reduced to 20% health for Shadow Miko).

"Go, go, GO!" Sanae ordered the team.

Upon the order being given, the four fighters rushed in to deal quite a number of damage to 'Shadow' Miko (20% reduced to 12%).

At this point, when the butterfly-shaped boss recovered from being knocked down, her stance was weakened, she dropped to the ground without being knocked down, and was showing the signs of fatigue.

"She'll be down if Reimu's and Marisa's next fire spells hit, so it's time to go all-out now" Damion informed Reimu and Marisa. Sanae already knew how weak 'Shadow' Miko was, but Reimu and Marisa couldn't because they weren't Persona users.

"Gotcha!"

"Awesome, ze!"

Taking this to heart, Reimu conjured up another medium-size fireball spell. She then shot said spell at the boss (12% reduced to 5% health for 'Shadow' Miko).

Time was of the essence now, and the final blow needed to be dealt.

"**Mercy!**" the boss begged in desperation through her fatigue.

This act of begging for forgiveness and mercy caught the team off-guard, especially the Persona users.

"What?" Marisa was confused by the boss's sudden cry for desperation.

"That's never happened before when I played Kamen 3 Portable" Sanae commented.

"No chances, Marisa; I'd consider it if we were fighting Toyosatomimi no Miko herself, but it's her shadow we're up against" Damion told them.

"Huh? Just kill Miko then, ze?" Marisa asked, clearly stupefied at the necromancer's seemingly ruthless demand.

"As I said, it's her shadow we're fighting. People, I know can change, but shadows can't unless their original does" he continued.

"So… do we fall back?" Reimu asked, equally confused.

"No, we finish the shadow off. Who knows what they'll do if given mercy during battle, so it's better to be safe than sorry" he urged them.

"Tch… fine" Marisa complied somewhat hesitantly.

Marisa, after being urged to do so, conjured another medium-size fireball spell and fired it at the butterfly-like boss. Upon impact, the shadow began to lose its power and the darkness dispersed to where it used to be. The wings were next to go, detaching itself from the body and dissipating slowly into nothingness. The arms and legs that made the limbs slowly dissolved. 'Shadow' Miko herself was forcefully ejected from her berserk form's body and landed on the ground, hard. Once the shadow's body was ejected, the remains of the berserk form's body burst into flames and darkness (5% reduced to 0% for 'Shadow' Miko).

## End battle ##

* * *

><p>"Is it over?" Marisa asked cautiously.<p>

"'fraid so, witch… for now. This shadow was the cause of her friends' shadows to go berserk" Damion muttered.

Toyosatomimi no Miko herself awoke seconds later, somewhat disoriented. However, at the same time, her shadow helped herself off the ground at the same time.

"Sanae, I'll take care of this one…" Damion began, but he was rudely interrupted.

"Not a chance, evil necromancer. I'm not letting you corrupt anyone into doing your bidding" Sanae threatened.

"Fine then, monitor what I tell her for all I care; Shadow business comes first before personal matters" he told her before going to work.

Sanae followed him, but kept enough distance to be within ear-shot of the 'evil' necromancer.

The first thing he did was help the she-saint on her feet, extending his hand to hers, which she took and was helped up.

"Thanks… I think" Toyosatomimi no Miko said softly.

"I hate to say this right now, but I'm tired as hell and want to end this freaking incident now; that 'doppelganger' is your deep dark secrets, rejected thoughts and beliefs, and everything you're running away from" he told her flatly.

"I under… WHAT!" Miko screamed suddenly after realizing what he just told her.

"I'm not good with words when I'm tired, so I'll just give you the short version; everything that 'doppelganger' of yours said is the truth about yourself; specifically, the bottled up emotions, beliefs, and problems that you've locked away and refuse to deal with. All that was desperate to reach out to you, and used the shadows as a medium to contact you… basically, your past is a child that's desperate to confront you and wanting true acceptance by you, wanting to know you're willing to face those problems" he told her.

Upon being told all that, Miko backed off a little with hopelessness looming over her.

"Hey! That's not what you tell her when she just wakes up after being attacked by her shadow!" Sanae shouted at him.

"Alright Sanae… I get it…" he shouted back at her.

"Tell me… what do I do then?" Miko asked him. She understood half of what he told her about her shadow, but was at a loss; no idea what to do.

"That… I believe is up to you; you need to be ready to confront your shadow and accept it as part of you, as hard as it may be to do that" he advised her.

"**Like hell she'll accept her past! She can't even accept the opinions of others without trying to get others to convert to Taoism first!**" 'Shadow' Miko shouted at her original.

Those words from her shadow made Miko stop and fall silent.

"That shadow… whether you believe it or not… is trying to reach out to you… for acceptance… of the beliefs you once held onto… and lost sight of" Damion said slowly, between phases of exhaustion and sleepiness.

"Hey, don't fall asleep on us just yet, evil one!" Sanae snapped at the necromancer.

On the side, Mononobe no Futo and Youmu Konpaku were talking to one another about each other's pasts, but Marisa and Reimu had their own concerns regarding the newcomer.

"_Hey, Reimu, is that guy really going to take over Gensokyo?_" Marisa whispered to Reimu.

The lazy shrine maiden whispered back her opinion, "_We'll take care of him if it comes to that, but I think Sanae is taking her job a little too seriously_"

"_Are you sure about that? He kind of attacked me with that familiar of his_"

"_A familiar? You mean the Personas? Did you, perchance, try to 'borrow' something of his?_"

Hesitantly, Marisa nodded.

*WHACK*

"THEN OF COURSE YOU'D BE ATTACKED!" Reimu shouted at Marisa after smacking said person with her gohei.

The divine spirits that lingered around the mausoleum finally started to disperse into seemingly random places; the action seemed to come to a close.

"…so be more considerate of someone who's gone through so much in such short time! You just don't understand girls and how sensitive they are!" Sanae scolded Damion.

"For once, you're right about my lack of understanding girls; I never got the chance to learn, interact, or understand common sense with them! Barring that issue, we need to focus on Miko-san right now" Damion retorted, then turned to Miko.

"Listen, Toyosatomimi no Miko… You need to come to terms with and realize the importance, desperation, and reasons why your past came to confront you like this" Sanae said to the she-saint softly.

"My what?" Miko asked.

"Your past is trying desperately to reach out to you and begging for acceptance. I would consider it symbolic for your past to seek acceptance, like an apprentice seeking approval and praise from his or her employer" Damion added.

"So please, you have to be brave to overcome this ordeal. I don't know what Taoists would call it, but this is a trial you need to overcome to better yourself, and become a more respectable leader" Sanae concluded.

Toyosatomimi no Miko hung her head down in shame and considered their words seriously.

"I know it's not the right time to say this, but can you hurry up and accept your shadow already? I'm tired as hell, worn-out from all these battles, and need to get my rest to keep a promise I made to someone…"

*WHACK*

Sanae smacked the necromancer with her gohei at what he just said.

"You're right… I've been too self-centered and fooling myself into believing I was perfect" Miko admitted to the Persona users before walking up to her shadow.

'Shadow' Miko, upon seeing her original walk up to her, also walked towards her original.

"**So, are you ready to accept the facts that you're a failure as a saint?**" 'Shadow' Miko jeered.

"Yes. I know now why you keep calling me a failure; you were the me that I tossed aside when I rose to saint-hood and used my influence to spread Taoism to everyone I knew"

'Shadow' Miko nodded once, and began showing signs of satisfaction.

"You were the 'me' that I was once before I learned about immortality, and how that was a stupid superstition. I became corrupt after learning Taoism's gift of immortality and secretly practiced that religion to attain that superstition… But… it seems too late for me to go back to the way I used to be"

"**That it is, but you're in Gensokyo now, not the human world**"

"What?"

"**While you were 'dead', a rivaling religious group of monks sealed you and your friends, casting them here in Gensokyo**"

"No way… This can't be true!" Toyosatomimi no Miko said in fear.

"Look on the bright side, you have a chance to start over, and make a name for yourself here" Damion encouraged her from the side.

"**The necromancer speaks the truth; here, you can start over like new**" 'Shadow' Miko added.

"I… I…I see… so that's it…" Miko stuttered.

The divine spirits were now cleared and settled down upon Miko's realization of current events. She calmed down and seemed to have relaxed upon finally coming to terms with all that's happened to her.

"You really are me… and I am you… I was just running away from myself, my real reason for being a saint was to spread the word of Buddhism, but I deceived everyone back home" Miko finally admitted to her shadow self.

'Shadow' Miko nodded again, and this time took on the form of a Persona above her original.

This Persona had a sphere surrounding Miko, but on the top of the sphere was a woman in pink dress that looked like the lower half of her body was merged with the sphere. On the sphere were parts of the dress attached to the sphere. The head looked partially bandaged, but you could see its nose and mouth, though the hair could only be seen flowing down the back of her head, but the bandage covered most of the hair on the top of the head.

"Setsuna Kiyoura's former Persona, Lucia… at least I know she'll be a major asset against the shadows, assuming she helps us" Damion muttered to himself.

Then, Sanae elbowed the necromancer with a warning.

The Persona disappeared into a card and said card floated down to Miko's hand. The Persona card then was absorbed into Toyosatomimi no Miko.

Upon obtaining her Persona, the she-saint collapsed unconscious.

"Miko!" Sanae screamed.

"Relax, Sanae Kochiya. She's just unconscious, weakened from having attainted the power of Persona. We need to get everyone out of here now that this incident is over" Damion said to the green-blue shrine maiden.

"Sanae, I'll make sure he doesn't do anything to them. Besides, we're not leaving until he tells us that 'murder' he committed" Reimu interrupted them.

"Oh yeah, I forgot he murdered someone, or so said that shadow" Marisa remembered.

"Tch… too long a story to explain in a short time, but the short version was coercion; was forced to do so in order to keep the world from going in the path that would wipe out its existence" the necromancer admitted.

"I'm calling bullshit!" Sanae shouted at him.

"I told you the truth; forced to murder against my will. What made things worse was that the ones I murdered… were my closest friends. I did kill before, but that was in self-defense… murder, on the other hand, was due to coercion" he added.

"Somehow I find this hard to believe that you would murder your closest friends after killing people in self-defense… I fear Gensokyo's safety with you around" Reimu sighed.

"Do you think I had any choice to kill those that tried to kill me? That I couldn't help if I wanted to stay alive. My friends, on the other hand, would've betrayed and continued an infinitely looping survival game by going back in the past to kill the other contestants over again, essentially disrupting the stability of my home world. That's the short version in a nutshell; no lies, no bullshit… just the facts as they are" he told them irritatedly.

"Sheesh, he's been through too much if he had to kill for survival. Give him a chance, Reimu. I don't think he's the type to kill his friends without a good reason" Marisa said.

"Don't bother Marisa… I'm not exactly welcome here now that you know what I've been through back in my home world. As for the events after that… there haven't been any killings of humans or youkai. That I can assure you is also the truth" the male also admitted.

"We'll be sure to keep an eye on you in case you decide to murder someone" Reimu threatened.

"I will also know who you murder because Yuyuko-sama manages the souls of the deceased" Youmu added.

"Fine, keep an eye on me for all I care. I refuse to murder anyone anyway; I've done enough killing. Just… I need my damn rest!" Damion shouted before the five zombies he summoned before ran to his side.

"Rest nothing, you need to stay away from everyone!" Sanae shouted at him.

"God damnit! Just… get these unconscious people to the closest safe place around and I'll have my new friends carry me there" he told the shrine maidens, witch, half-ghost, and self-proclaimed shikaisen before finally collapsing into deep sleep.

Once they caught up with him, the necromancer fell asleep on top of the first undead, which readjusted itself to better carry the necromancer on its back.

Just like that, the whole incident came to a close.

"Honestly, just who the hell does he think he is, ordering us around like that?" Sanae asked somewhat defensively.

"**Shame that you bully him, after he told you what you wanted, and NEEDED to know**" came the voice of Yukari Yakumo

Sure enough, the youkai in question arrived from an opened gap she created behind the incident resolvers.

"What do you mean, we 'bully' him?" Reimu asked the gap hag defensively.

"You clearly don't know what he's been through; the feeling of losing everything you hold dear to you, to be taken away in such a short amount of time" Yukari sternly said to the shrine maidens, Youmu, and Marisa.

"Eh? He's seen worse?" Marisa asked.

"The feelings of desperation, deep despair, hopelessness, and regret… I've looked into it. Cut him some slack, Sanae Kochiya" Yukari replied with a dark tone.

"Wha! Why are you siding with him?" Sanae shot back.

"I'd rather him never finding out what I'm about to show you, but it is necessary for you to see and understand these strong feelings for you to understand why I'm cooperating with him" Yukari warned them.

"How are we supposed to see into his memories?" Reimu asked her.

"First, you must promise you will act like you've never seen what I'm going to show you; he must not know of this, or he'll simply let the shadows take over Gensokyo. Do you understand?" Yukari made them swear.

Youmu, Futo, Reimu, Marisa, and Sanae nodded.

"Good. I will project his memories into the gap above him" the gap hag said to them before doing what she said.

The events of his past were shown in the gap; his friends, the situation he was part of, the tournament, and the kills he had to make.

The first event that was shown was that of his secret orders as a member of the tournament; how he was secretly a pawn in the god's scheme.

Then came the meeting of his friends. A young man who writes entries in his cell phone about the things around him, and the other was a girl who stalked the young man shown earlier.

The first murder; a serial killer.

A young child who he befriended, who was also a contestant in the tournament. This same girl was a major ally to him, and someone he protected because she was young.

The blind man with sharpened senses; another murder to protect his friends.

The list continued with other targets and contestants that weren't his friends.

Then… came the coercion; blackmail from his creator to murder the friends, and rivals, in the tournament.

The regret born from betraying his friends became very clear to Reimu, Youmu, Sanae, Marisa, and Futo.

After his friends were murdered by betrayal, the memories of what happened next were blurred, but they were able to see a young man with a dragon for a few moments before the gap of memories closed.

"Now do you understand? Those memories traumatized him into fighting for the safety of those around him. This is also the reason why I'm cooperating with him in keeping the shadows at bay; it's a win-win partnership" Yukari explained seriously.

"Yukari Yakumo… You're being a little too serious about him; he's just a human from another world" Reimu shot back.

"That he is, but he knows more about these shadows than Sanae does. I also saw what those shadows can do to humans, and even youkai. Chen's shadow was proof enough that these shadows are a menace to Gensokyo" Yukari added.

"And, what, I can't resolve these shadow incidences?" Reimu shot back.

"If it was easy to get rid of the shadows by danmaku, then I wouldn't have brought him here; they play by different rules, and are unaffected by danmaku" Yukari informed them.

"Tch… Then leave Gensokyo to me to take care of these shadows!" Sanae demanded.

"No can do, Sanae; I need all the help I can get this time; my powers cannot stop these shadows" Yukari said to them with a serious tone.

"Shouldn't we get out of here?" Marisa suggested to everyone.

Everyone looked at the witch, and nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>## Outside ##<p>

The seven girls (Youmu carrying the unconscious Seiga Kaku, Futo carrying the unconscious Soga no Tojiko, and Marisa carrying the unconscious Toyosatomimi no Miko) made it out of the cave, with the sleeping necromancer being carried by his undead minions.

It was almost midnight when the gang left the cave.

"So where should we take these unconscious girls?" Sanae asked the group.

"Let's stop by Myouren Temple since it's close by. I hope Byakuren and her friends will help them" Sanae suggested.

"That… may not be a good idea. Last I checked, Miko and Hijiri were rivaling religious leaders. Let's get them to Eientei" Yukari advised.

Reluctantly, Sanae agreed, but everyone else was quick to agree with the gap hag.

Upon agreement, Yukari opened a gap to the location in question, which everyone (including the necromancer's minions, one of which was carrying its conjurer on its back) followed Yukari in.

* * *

><p>## Myouren Temple ##<p>

The temple was in an uproar; Byakuren Hijiri was furious, Shou Toramaru was frantically trying to calm down the she-monk, Nazrin was simply afraid of Hijiri's fury, Ichimi and Unzan was trying to escort the panicking worshippers out of the temple for their safety.

"WHO THE HELL UNSEALED THE MAUSOLEUM!" Byakuren's voice roared across the temple.

"Hijiri-sama, calm down!" Shou Toramaru said to Byakuren Hijiri, frantically trying to calm the normally level-headed she-monk.

"Those divine spirits were supposed to keep the seal on that place have been disrupted!" Hijiri yelled at her follower to explain the problem.

"Um… what's the big deal about some divine spirits and a seal on a mausoleum?" Shou asked the she-monk.

Byakuren turned to Shou with a serious expression and explained the problem.

"Toyosatomimi no Miko's been unsealed, and that means trouble! My former peers worked to seal away Miko from deceiving everyone she preached to, and to stop her from turning our worshippers away from us! In addition, we had to stop her from achieving immortality from becoming a shikaisen" Byakuren Hijiri explained in summarization.

"What's the big deal about Miko becoming immortal anyway? It just means she can't die and…"

"It means more than that; she'll become a demi-goddess if she achieves immortality!" Byakuren interrupted Shou.

* * *

><p>## Eientei ##<p>

Everyone piled out of the gap as quickly as it opened.

"Welcome to… oh my" Eirin Yagokoro greeted everyone that came in, until she noticed the unconscious girls (and sleeping young man).

"The unconscious girls need rest and some treatment. Him, on the other hand, needs sleep –ze" Marisa told the doctress.

Nodding, doctress led the group (save for Yukari, who left in the same gap she opened) to the back rooms.

In one room, she laid the unconscious girls on the beds.

The undead minions, on the other hand, moved to the room right opposite side in the hall, which was empty, and laid their conjuror on an empty bed. Once that was done, the minions themselves dropped like soulless dolls onto the ground near the sleeping necromancer.

Eirin began work immediately to assess the damage to the girls.

"Alright, I think it's safe to say that our job for now is over. Let's get back to our homes" Reimu said to the incident resolvers in the room.

Youmu, Sanae, and Marisa all nodded and left the mansion.

Mononobe no Futo helped herself into a bed, but Miyako Yoshika plopped onto the ground, fast asleep.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER<p>

A/N: Ten Desires main arc over; time for extra stage and boss next chapter.

A/N 2: In the initial draft, Toyosatomimi no Miko's Persona was going to be Yamato-Takeru, a Persona that was going to be strong, but then I took another look at Miko's profile, and decided to change the Persona to Lucia (Fuuka Yamagishi's Persona) since Miko makes a better support character after looking at her power, which was to hear up to ten people at a time. Taking this into consideration, I changed the original Persona choice for her to Lucia since that Persona's role might, to some extent, be similar to Miko's power, albeit in different ways. Sorry this chapter was delayed, but there was also another issue I had with the start of the next chapter; continuity with Byakuren Hijiri's actions from the end of this chapter, and the start of the next one. Initial draft had her storm out to the Mausoleum to assess the situation, and find out what happened to Miko (Byakuren and Miko hatred will be the reason). I left off the Byakuren open-ended to show her being frustrated at finding out the divine spirits she 'hired' to enforce the seal on Miko remained intact. I'm still debating whether to do a segment portraying the feud between Miko and Byakuren or not.

Yeah, sorry about the delayed release of this chapter; there were two corrections I had to make (First being Miko's Persona being more accurate to her abilities, and the second was Byakuren's actions to keep with continuity with the start of the next chapter). Yeah, first draft had Miko being a power-house for the Persona users, but then came balance issues to reduce the skills to lower-level equivalents around 20 or so. In this final draft, I changed her Persona to Lucia to fit more with her power, or stretch that power a little.

Again, sorry about the delay, but this summarizes the main problems.


	10. Ten Desires Extra

A/N: Had to re-write this chapter since chapter 10 was somehow destroyed while backing up my files. Also caught a formula error while editing

Action picks up around a third of the way into this chapter. Please understand that if some things seem obvious to one series, it may not make sense to the other series, thus the A/Ns at the bottom.

* * *

><p>## Unknown location ##<p>

"Damn it, Yukari!" the younger of the sisters cursed the gap youkai.

Obviously, Yukari was teasing the sisters about their princess. After all, Kaguya Houraisen was an important and crucial lunarian for the lunar capital.

"Like I said, he might taint your princess, or he might not; that depends on his actions" Yukari teased.

The younger sister, Yorihime, grunted profanities at the gap hag.

"Yorihime, it's not lady-like to use words like that; be thankful that our guest knows the location of our princess. Our new pet, Reisen, has confirmed that Kaguya-sama is, indeed, somewhere in that land. Even though we have confirmation, that doesn't excuse her from fleeing down there" Toyohime, the elder sister, told her younger sister with a relaxed expression.

Toyohime slouched forward with interest at Yukari's information.

"As I said, this all depends on his actions; if he pursues her with interest, he may taint the princess. If not, then it'll all be fine and dandy" Yukari added.

"True, but if what you say is true about him and Kaguya-sama, then maybe she'll become a better leader than before" Toyohime agreed.

"Hey, sister, are you really going to gamble on this? Even though Reisen confirmed Kaguya-sama being there, and Yukari confirming this, what makes you think they're both telling the truth? For all I know, Yukari met Reisen there, and tricked her into believing Kaguya-sama was there" Yorihime objected.

This disbelief made Yukari cringe.

"Now why would I do such a thing as that?" the gap hag asked skeptically.

"I know you well enough that you like to pull these sort of tricks. Believe me, I've done my research" Yorihime pointed out.

The younger sister got Yukari with that this time.

"Oh, so you think you know about me? Alright then, what am I scheming right now?" Yukari challenged.

"You're trying to provoke us into a prank of yours" Yorihime declared.

"And I was hoping you'd be a little more specific than that if you knew what I was up to" Yukari sighed in disbelief.

"Uh, Yorihime, you don't know what she's planning, do you?" Toyohime hesitantly asked her sister.

"Shut up! She's definitely up to something, and I know it!" Yorihime declared.

"Fine, fine. I'll have another talk with you some other time" Yukari said to them before disappearing into a gap.

With Yukari gone, the Watatsuki sisters sighed with relief. Toyohime sighed because of the lunar capital princess been found, but Yorihime sighed about being made fun of by the sisters indirectly, though secretly glad that their princess was found.

* * *

><p>## Myouren Temple ##<p>

It was the start of morning.

Byakuren Hijiri was furious after realizing that something happened in the mausoleum near the temple. She was pacing back and forth in her room grumbling about her situation getting worse.

"Hijiri-sama, what's wrong?" Shou Toramaru, one of her friends and disciple of Bishamonten, asked her.

"Those divine spirits! Something's caused them to weaken the seal on Toyosatomimi no Miko's grave, thus awakening her!" the she-monk screamed.

She was clutching her head as though a major crisis has happened.

"What's so important about this Miko person?" the disciple asked again.

Byakuren stopped and turned to Shou.

"She's the traitor to Buddhism who secretly practiced Taoism to achieve immortality!" Hijiri told her.

Upon hearing the short explanation, Shou was left clueless.

"Uh, why is that a bad thing?" she asked.

"Buddhists are not supposed to desire immortality or resort to cheap methods of attaining it. It's rather taboo, and as such, she needed to be sealed with her memories of Taoism erased! That's why the seal on her was so important!" Byakuren explained a little more thoroughly.

She then added, "That's what I'm about to ask you to do; take Nazrin, Ichirin and Unzan, and Nue with you to investigate the mausoleum. Find out what happened there with the divine spirits and check on whether Toyosatomimi no Miko is still sealed"

"Right away!" Shou agreed, and then set off for the mausoleum.

Shou ran off and rounded up her peers to investigate.

Unknown to Byakuren, Yukari was spying on her conversation from a well-hidden gap.

"_You idiot, that place is full of those dark shadow things!_"

Knowing this would mean danger if Shou and her peers investigated the mausoleum and encountered the shadows, it would mean disaster.

On the other hand, she was just as curious as to the events in there from what Reimu told her, and the divine spirits as well were a mystery to her. If she were to let things go as they are now, Hijiri probably wouldn't see her followers alive. Though, she would have to forcefully break her expert's promise to Eirin to stop the investigation… for their safety.

* * *

><p>## Eientei ##<p>

Morning hit Eientei, about 7:30 give or take.

Tewi was laughing to herself about something, Eirin was sipping coffee, and Reisen was making breakfast in the kitchen/dining room.

Kaguya came in, yawning all the while.

"Good morning…" Kaguya greeted half-asleep.

"Good morning" Eirin greeted.

By now, Kaguya plopped onto an open seat and rested her head on the table.

"That idiot better wake up soon; he still needs to wrap up that thing about priorities" Eirin muttered.

"_**MINAKO!**_"

This sudden yell from nearby startled everyone, except Kaguya who jumped in surprise only to fall back on the table. The yell also happened to have come from across the hall in one of the bedrooms.

At this point, Tewi began howling in laughter.

"Tewi, dare I ask what you did to him?" Reisen asked her peer.

"Hehehehe, it's a secret" Tewi giggled mischievously.

"Oh, you mean the Brittleroot Muldavin powder? That stuff causes nightmares-"

"_**KYAAAAH!**_"

"_**Wha-! Why is there a fairy next to me!**_"

That yell interrupted Eirin, who was about to lecture the earth rabbit on the substance the prankster used, until the sudden yell about a fairy.

"Huh? That's not part of the prank I pulled on him" Tewi was surprised at this.

"_**Oh, great… What do you want, Yukari?**_"

"Ah, that explains a lot… that gap hag pranked him after I did; how suspicious" Tewi replied.

"Yukari!" Eirin jumped at the sound of, and mention of, Yukari nearby.

Eirin quickly got out of her seat and rushed to the room she heard his voice in.

* * *

><p>## Damion's (temporary) room ##<p>

Inside, the necromancer just woke up. The fairy that screamed was wearing a blue dress with green hair. Clearly, she was terrified of suddenly ending up next to a male without warning.

This, unfortunately, was the worst time for him to wake up, and especially worse when Eirin barged into the room.

"Damn it, what's going on now!" he groaned with a face-palm.

The fairy backed up into a wall opposite side of the room of the necromancer.

"Good timing, Eirin. I was just about to get you to discuss the reason I'm here" Yukari said to the pharmacist.

Eirin sat down on her knees between the necromancer and the gap hag.

"Alright, explain" was Eirin's response. Her tone was that of irritation.

"First, that fairy is a Persona user" Yukari began.

This little bit of information took a few moments to register with the two of them. The fairy, on the other hand, was confused as much as she is frightened.

"And you know this… how?" the young man asked the gap hag skeptically.

"Sanae Kochiya brought her to Reimu's shrine a week before I brought you in, and told said person what happened. Sanae didn't tell me what that other fairy was that disappeared into a card and vanished. From what you told me a few days ago, I assumed it was a Persona. Sadly, I did not get to see what that fairy-like Persona looked like." Yukari explained.

"A fairy-like Persona? I know a few that are possible matches, but that depends on what that fairy Persona looks like" Damion muttered.

"I only knew it was a fairy-like Persona because of its size and wing size, as well as shape. I couldn't get the right details about it" Yukari mentioned.

"Dai-chan, do you mind showing us that fairy you saw?" Eirin asked the fairy gently.

"Dai-chan?" the necromancer asked Eirin.

"Her name is Daiyousei. Despite her name, she's quite timid. I don't know why she's afraid of you though" Eirin answered.

The fairy, Daiyousei, was hesitant to approach the three of them.

"Eirin, how much does she trust you?" the necromancer asked Eirin.

"She's not afraid of me, but I'm not sure what you're getting at" Eirin replied.

"We'll need a better description of her Persona; a picture, describing features, anything. I know that fairy Personas are generally low-stats, but it depends on the fairy. Could you get her something to write or scribble on for details?" he asked her.

"Alright, I'll be right back" Eirin agreed with uncertainty.

The doctress got up to get some paper and crayons from the desk nearby and went to the frightened fairy.

After a while of explaining the situation in simple terms so that the fairy could understand, Daiyousei somehow agreed to help, and began drawing a picture of the fairy she saw.

The picture in question showed a tiny fairy with clear wings and a blue leotard.

Once the picture was complete, Eirin escorted Daiyousei to the group. The fairy was holding onto Eirin for emotional support. Damion took the picture from Eirin and glanced at the content. Upon doing so, he immediately recognized the fairy in the picture.

"Tch, that one's Pixie. I don't know whether Daiyousei's has the same 'special' growth as Chen's Nekomata until I see her Persona card" Damion muttered.

"I'm not a pixie! I'm a fairy, you idiot!" Daiyousei angrily screamed at him.

"Dai-chan, it's your Persona that's named Pixie, not you" the necromancer retorted.

When he corrected her, Daiyousei quickly hid behind Eirin.

"Dai-chan, do you remember that card you got from the fairy?" Eirin said to the frightened fairy softly.

The doctress knew that every Persona user is needed to defend Gensokyo from the shadows. Personas that have limited growth won't be that useful.

Daiyousei, slowly being comforted by the doctress, nodded 'yes' to Eirin's question.

"Ok, do you mind letting me see that card?"

This time the green-haired fairy became hesitant. She then flew up to Eirin's ear and whispered something.

"Oh, no… he's not going to steal your friend; he wants to see how strong she is. I won't let him take your friend away from you" Eirin replied.

Once that was established, Daiyousei summoned the Persona card from her mind and materialized it into physical form.

The pharmacist gently took the card from the fairy and passed it to the shadow expert.

Glancing at the stats and skills so far, he sighed in disappointment.

"This Persona is a step-up from the standard one; has many level-up skills and a decent skill-pool to start with. Three skills; Dia, Patra, and Zionga. Dia is weak healing, Patra removes most of the mental ailments in battle, and Zionga is a medium electric skill. As for battle, it's strong against wind but weak to fire" Damion muttered as he looked over the Persona card.

"Where does that leave Daiyousei in the battle? Good? Bad?" Eirin asked.

"She'll be good against enemies weak to zio skills, as well as healer. Pretty much support/electric oriented. I doubt Daiyousei's physical strength is any good, but Pixie's magic stat will compensate for attack. In other words, she's around average and somewhat ok in battle" Damion summarized. (1)

Daiyousei, after hearing this, swiped her Pixie Persona card back from the necromancer.

"Ok, that leaves the question of whether Daiyousei knows how Personas work" he muttered.

"How they work?" Daiyousei asked timidly.

Damion sighed.

"Fighting shadows has a whole different set of rules than danmaku…" Damion began, but…

"Reimu told me danmaku doesn't affect those shadows" Yukari interrupted.

"Ok, so danmaku doesn't work" he repeated. "Back to the point; when fighting shadows, you put your life at stake. Health works in numbers, and 'magic' uses Spirit Points. Your spirit points is your 'magic' that you use to pull off offensive or defensive skills with Personas, but you can use health to cast more powerful physical attacks. Are you following, Dai-chan?"

The fairy, slowly taking in the information, nodded. She still, however, was afraid of him.

"Alright, most shadows have elemental strengths and weaknesses, like in the case of magic, but in seven offensive categories. Fire, Ice, Wind, Electricity, Light, Dark, and Physical. Basic elements are the first four, but light and dark are instant-death skills. Physical isn't technically a 'magic' skill, but works similar to using 'magic' skills" he continued explaining.

"Support skills, you can tell us later. There's something more urgent right now" Yukari interrupted.

Upon interruption, Damion became irritated.

"Alright, what's so important that I needed to stop?" he asked sternly.

"Some idiots from the Myouren Temple are headed to investigate the mausoleum. I fear their safety against the shadows, so I'm sending you to stop them. This fairy will help you fight them in danmaku should the need arise…"

"**What!**" Daiyousei and Damion screamed together and leaned forward in protest.

"As I said, those idiots are walking towards something they're not going to be able to stand against"

"Hold on, why didn't you stop them yourself by getting in their way?" Damion protested.

Yukari huffed.

"Do you really think they're going to listen to me? I'm famous for pulling fast ones on a whim, so trust is an issue"

"Tch, I hope this is as simple as you make it sound, unless there's something more that you're not telling me" he answered skeptically.

"Just get keep them away from the mausoleum, that's all. Use your minions to fight danmaku if you need to; Daiyousei is support for either battle type" Yukari replied.

"Eh!" Daiyousei screamed.

"That's up to Daiyousei; it's her choice whether she'll help or not…"

"I'll help out" Daiyousei suddenly declared, with timidity kicking in at the last moment.

The fairy slowly crept out from behind Eirin towards the young man. As she was doing so, she was mustering the courage to try and trust him. Sure, he had the aura of evil about him, and that scared the fairy, but he hasn't shown aggression to her.

The necromancer saw Daiyousei's tiny bit of bravery and extended his hand slowly to her. The fairy was tempted to back off quickly, but she continued to proceed forward to try and trust him.

Fortunately, she was able to shake hands with him.

"Alright, it seems you've taken the first step towards trust and bravery in my goal of helping Gensokyo fight back against the shadows" he said to the timid fairy.

Daiyousei nodded slowly.

"Alright, now that you two are trusting of one another, let's get you to work; I'm anticipating that those idiots will persist in seeing what happened in the mausoleum, so that's why I'm having Daiyousei help you with the danmaku and shadows" Yukari interjected.

"Just be sure to bring him back in an hour; he's scheduled to continue with priorities" Eirin reminded them.

"Yeah, I know; Just… I don't know how long it'll take to convince some temple disciples to steer clear of that place" he sighed with defeat.

Before anyone could say another word, Yukari opened a gap underneath Daiyousei and Damion, and said necromancer's minions, which caused them to fall into the unknown that is Yukari's gap.

"You could've gotten Reimu and Sanae to do the job, you know that?" Eirin muttered.

"They wouldn't bother with small matters like this; I asked them" Yukari replied before gapping herself out of the room.

A while later, Eirin left the room to scold Tewi for stealing her ingredient.

* * *

><p>## Outside the mausoleum cave ##<p>

The young man and fairy landed pretty hard on the ground.

"Ah! It's that violent guy!" someone yelled nearby.

The voice belonged to a mouse youkai, Nazrin. She was apparently reading the Bunbunmaru newspaper and sharing the contents with her superior and friends.

"He is?" Shou Toramaru asked, looking over the necromancer.

By now, said necromancer and his fairy companion helped themselves up off the ground.

"Geez, doesn't that gap hag know how to gently get people around with her powers?" he muttered while helping himself up.

He then noticed Shou and her group… until he saw 'Kat'. (2)

Nue, being the youkai she is, let her power go the moment she saw him, creating an illusion based on the fears of humans that she plans to scare.

"**SSHHHHIIIIIIIIITTT!**" he screamed. Upon doing so, he ran straight for the cave leading to the mausoleum.

"Fwa, hahahahaa!" Nue laughed at her illusion being successful (her illusion only works on humans that she plans to scare).

Daiyousei, upon seeing her partner flee like that, became very nervous.

"Wait a minute!" Shou yelled at the fleeing necromancer.

Unfortunately, her voice didn't make it in time, nor was it heard by the intended person.

"Nue! You shouldn't have done that!" Ichirin scolded the illusionist.

"Huh… the violent guy was afraid of something… how pathetic" Nazrin commented.

"Eh? Violent?" Daiyousei asked the mouse youkai.

"Here, take a look"

The mouse youkai handed the fairy the newspaper and read the article she was referring to.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>New Shikigami user sighted; attacks defenseless witches and summons assassins<strong>_

_This new shikigami user is a young man with a violent attitude and will attack any witch he sees. His first victim managed to survive his onslaught and flee his wrath. Victim, Marisa Kirisame, interviewed talks about being brutally attacked._

"_It was terrible! People like him are scum to all of the men out there. His reason for attacking me… I think was because I wanted to see something of his"_

_When interviewed, he grew violent over a few questions about his personal life. Rumor has it he can summon assassins with a gun-like object._

_The assassin in question was tall, wears a metal helmet, long black coat, and a large sword. The body structure is that of a protagonist from a movie._

_Violent he may be, but he seems more focused on these new youkai he calls 'shadows'. Little is known about this new kind of youkai, except that only things called 'Personas' can fight back the 'shadows'."_

* * *

><p>…<p>

As Daiyousei read the article, she became confused.

"Violent? He didn't seem violent back in Eientei; rather, far from violent" the fairy commented.

"Huh? Are you talking about the guy Nue scared off?" Nazrin asked Daiyousei in disbelief.

Shou seemed confused at hearing the different opinions of the person Nue just scared.

After a while, the necromancer emerged from the cave, but with friends… undead friends. The number of his 'friends' were around 30.

Shou, along with her peers, were startled by seeing the amount of skeletons behind him. This left them with little choice but to get ready for battle. Daiyousei, on the other hand, went back to being frightened of him.

"Alright, Kat. You followed me here, and now it's time for you to go back to Heaven!" the young man threatened 'Kat'.

Upon the threat, Nue decided to continue her charade, still thinking it's a prank.

"And so what? I'm still here, right?" Nue threatened back with a tone that mimicked seriousness.

Ichirin knew the situation would escalate into something worse than just shouting, and NOT danmaku battle.

Her familiar, Unzan, somehow communicated to its master. Ichirin agreed with her familiar's opinion and took action; she had Unzan whack Nue on the head.

"OUCH!" Nue screamed as she clutched her head.

This caused the illusionist to lose her focus, and her illusion on the young man to drop.

"What the!" the necromancer yelped when he saw the illusion drop.

Scratching the back of her head, Nue held her spear at him threateningly.

"Damn it, who are you now?" he asked confoundedly.

"That's Nue Houjou" Nazrin answered him.

He looked at Nazrin, then at Nue. Processing the information was tricky because of her name and what she was; it was hard for him to believe that one is named after their species.

"How is it that she is named after her species?" he wondered softly.

"Eh! His violence just stopped!" Dai-chan was surprised at the sudden mood change.

"Violent? Where do you get off with me being that sort of person?" he asked the fairy.

The fairy responded by showing him the newspaper and article about him.

The necromancer read the article a few times.

"Damn that Tengu" he grumbled irritatedly while face-palming.

"Alright, if you're done with your army, could you please move them so we can go about our business? Hijiri-sama needs us to check something out in that cave" Shou asked him nicely, trying to excuse herself and her peers from any more shenanigans.

When the young man and the fairy heard them mention 'check something out' and 'cave', they immediately got defensive.

"Sorry, but that place is too dangerous. Shadows are waiting to attack the weak-minded" he explained.

Shou and her peers weren't buying it, save for Ichirin who seemed to have an idea of what the situation.

"Shadows? You mean the new youkai from the Bunbunmaru?" the nun-like youkai asked with stoic concern.

Shou, Nazrin, and Nue quickly turned to Ichirin as though she was betraying them.

"Kumoi, are you saying he's the one from the paper?" Shou turned to ask her.

Ichirin and Unzan nodded.

"Unzan says he's sure about it, but not sure about all this" Ichirin answered.

"Either way, I can't let you in there…" the necromancer began, but was interrupted when Nue tackled him.

"Ugh!"

"Go, now!" Nue ordered.

Daiyousei was at a loss; Nue forcefully knocked down the young man who was not letting them through.

Shou, Nazrin, and Ichirin and Unzan nodded and rushed past the fairy towards the cave leading to the mausoleum.

"I didn't like you at first, and now I know I don't like you at all. You think you can exterminate one type of youkai simply because you call them dangerous?" Nue threatened him.

"Daiyousei, go protect them from the shadows; I'll deal with this ignorant prick" Damion ordered the fairy.

Daiyousei, still shocked from Nue's sudden behavior change, managed to hear his order. She nodded quietly and flew as fast as she could into the cave after the Myouren Temple group.

Once the fairy was out of sight, he turned his attention to the illusionist.

He got back on his feet a few seconds later and readied his Evoker to his head.

"Why are you arguing over those 'shadows' when you don't know the first thing about them; I studied them in their world while fighting them at the same time" the necromancer argued.

"It's not right to simply kill because they exist; they have emotions and feelings too!" Nue made her counter-argument.

Neither person was going to back down.

"Look, I'd rather talk, but Hijiri-sama's orders must be held, and I'm not apologizing for tackling you. Please, step down or I'll seriously get mad" Nue threatened.

"You brought this upon yourself to not listen to me when I said the shadows are dangerous, and continued to insist that they're things that can live. They are things that devour the minds of individuals that have the potential to have Personas" he tried explaining. He still had his evoker pointed to his head. "They are born from human emotions and given physical form; in other words, embodiments of a personality, acting on instinct to hunt Personas"

"You're not making sense" Nue replied, still with her stern expression.

"Just trust me on this; they're dangerous. Too long to explain, not enough time to do the explanation and…"

"MAMI-CHAN! **HELP ME!**" Nue screamed loudly.

…

Rustling sounds were heard near the two, and then a woman jumped out of the tree closest to the necromancer.

*WHAM*

He was knocked to the ground again.

"Urgh"

He was sliding on the ground for a few seconds, kicking up dirt.

"Don't you DARE hurt my friends!" This woman yelled at the necromancer.

The young man slowly helped himself up off the ground, and he was pissed.

"You damn illusionist. I'm trying to tell you those 'new youkai' aren't youkai at all!" he retorted to Nue. Then turned to the woman he was just kicked by.

The woman in question was wearing a brass-color shirt with a maroon-color skirt. On her head was a leaf. She had those glasses that pinch the nose to stay on their face. Strapped to her right hand was a notepad, and strapped to her left hand was a jug of what was presumably sake. The most distinguishing feature about this woman was her large raccoon tail.

"Hey! Don't put down my friends!" the raccoon woman yelled at him.

"Alright then, if you really insist on listening to her lies, I'll have to take YOU on before you and that illusionist will listen to me" he retorted.

The woman nodded.

* * *

><p>## Battle against raccoon woman ##<p>

The raccoon lady started things off by rushing up to him again and throwing a hard sucker-punch to his face (100% reduced to 93% health to Damion).

The necromancer started things off by casting 'scan' on the raccoon woman.

Various information became clear to him. Her name was Mamizou Futatsuiwa. Combat-wise, she's about the same stats as him, though slightly higher. Not-so-surprisingly, she has the ability to shape-shift into various objects or people, and her combat properties change with her changes. Sadly, she retains the gift of null light/dark insta-death skills regardless of form for this battle.

"A tanuki, huh? This makes things interesting, though I doubt she'd be able to transform into a Persona" he muttered to himself.

Unfortunately, the tanuki youkai overheard him.

"Oh, you think I can't turn into a Persona huh? Try THIS!" Mamizou retorted.

This turn, Mamizou began morphing from her normal appearance to that of a near-replica of Damion's Izanagi. The only difference was that it had a leaf on its head on top of the metal helmet.

"Wha? Izanagi?" the necromancer replied in shock.

"You see now? This ability saved many of my friends, but to think I have to use it for battle is despicable. Now face your shikigami assassin!" Mamizou (Izanagi) declared.

Sadly, her transformations used up her turn.

"Fine, fine. Just know that I can command up to twelve of these 'shikigami' as Aya calls them in her papers, at a time. What chance do you think you have of beating me with ONE of them, much less as a transformation?" he shot back at her.

This turn, the necromancer's head flashed once, indicating a change in Personas.

With this new Persona armed and ready, he brought his Evoker to his head and fired it. The Persona summoned looked like a fairy with blond hair and green attire. It was Sylph, the Persona.

The fairy-like Persona conjured up a gust of wind around Mamizou (Izanagi), and knocked her down to the ground from weakness (100% reduced to 95% health for Mamizou). (3)

*1 More*

He summoned his Persona again, and cast the same skill once more (95% reduced to 90%).

Mamizou (Izanagi) quickly brought herself back up and ready to fight.

"Damn it, what the hell happened!" Mami asked aloud.

The necromancer, and illusionist, were both equally surprised at Mamizou's sudden question.

"That's never happened when Mami-chan fought someone using her shape-shifting" Nue, equally confused, muttered.

"I think I have an idea, but… I'll explain after the battle" the necromancer muttered.

Mamizou (Izanagi) shrugged off his retort, but began her counter-attack. Sacrificing a small amount of her health, she took her form's sword and ran at the necromancer. While running past him, she swung her sword, dealing a fair bit of damage to the necromancer (90% spent 2% leaving 88% health for Mamizou left) (93% reduced to 90% health for Damion).

"Tch, so you can use Persona's skills. Just great" the necromancer muttered sarcastically.

The necromancer repeated his last turn's skills, Garu, on Mamizou (Izanagi), knocking her down (90% reduced to 85% health for Mamizou).

*1 More*

And again (85% reduced to 80% health for Mamizou).

Mamizou (Izanagi) helped herself up off the ground again.

"Tch, this assassin shikigami is no good? How!" Mamizou asked with heavy frustration.

"Like I said, I'll explain later, although it's probably obvious now" he shot back.

The tanuki youkai began another shape-shift, only to turn into an exact replica of the young man's current Persona, Sylph. This change in form also meant a change in combat properties. However, like Izanagi morph, it had a leaf on its head.

"Give it up already; copying my Personas will NOT give you an advantage! The Personas I use, I know their strengths and weaknesses" he told her with a chuckle.

His head flashed once, another Persona change.

The necromancer used his Evoker and summoned the Persona he swapped out with; Izanagi.

The Persona released a weak jolt of electricity upwards into the air, where it crashed down onto Mamizou (Sylph), knocking her down due to her elemental weakness (80% reduced to 75% health for Mamizou).

*1 More*

This time, he cast the skill Rakunda on Mamizou. A blue wave of energy shot out of Izanagi and enveloped Mamizou (Sylph) and affected her defenses.

As Mamizou (Sylph) helped herself back up, she grunted some profanities at him.

"Hyaaaa!"

The tanuki youkai (Sylph) mimicked the necromancer's action he pulled last turn when he used Sylph onto him; Garu skill.

Like the Persona she took on the shape of, she conjured up a weak gust of wind that encircled and lifted the necromancer in the air. He was dropped after the skill finished, and knocked down (90% reduced to 85% health for Damion).

*1 More*

"How do YOU like getting attacked by your own shikigami now? Fufufu" Mamizou (Sylph) chuckled.

Once again, she repeated her last action, causing the necromancer another round of damage (85% reduced to 80% health for Damion).

He helped himself up off the ground and readied himself for attack.

He summoned Izanagi once more, this time to use Zio skill again.

Electricity was shot in the air, and struck the tanuki youkai (Sylph) hard. Her current form's weakness to electricity naturally caused her to be knocked down (75% reduced to 68% health for Mamizou).

*1 More*

And another Zio skill struck her (68% reduced to 61% health for Mamizou).

The tanuki youkai (Sylph) helped herself back up off the ground and battle-ready.

"Alright, I've been taking it easy against you. No more handicaps" Mamizou (Sylph) declared.

**(Update: turn loss from Mami's transforming no longer applies)**

The tanuki youkai began another morph, only this time into Izanagi again.

This turn, Mamizou (Izanagi) spent a little of her health to cast the weak physical skill, Cleave. This was done by running up to the necromancer and slashing him hard with her current form's sword (61% spend 2% to 59% health left for Mamizou) (80% reduced to 77% health for Damion).

"Alright, I'll play that game with ya. It was time for a chance of tactics anyway" the young man chuckled.

His new tactic involved a bit of luck, some prediction, and a line of logic he hoped Mamizou was running with.

His head flashed once, brought his evoker to his head, and fired it. The Persona summoned this time was what looked like a manta ray with a human body merged on its back. It was Forneus

This turn, he called for it to use Bufu on the tanuki youkai. A block of ice formed on Mamizou (Izanagi)'s torso and shattered, leaving behind some damage and cuts from the shattering of ice (59% reduced to 55% health for Mamizou).

*Rakunda debuff wore off from Mamizou Futatsuida*

"Switching elements? Ha!"

The tanuki (Izanagi) chuckled. She morphed into a Persona he didn't expect; Pyro Jack. Like the Personas before she shape-shifted to, it had a leaf on its head.

This turn, Mamizou (Pyro Jack) conjured a ball of fire at Damion's location that was Agilao skill. The elemental 'magic' so to speak exploded in his face (77% reduced to 72% health for Damion). (6).

"What? You should've been knocked down!" Mamizou (Pyro Jack) gasped when she saw him still standing.

The necromancer smirked.

"Gotcha!" he chuckled.

The trap was the common belief of elemental skill equals specialty and properties based on opposites. In other words, he hoped she would fall for the fire-knocks-down-ice-using Personas. This is especially common for most magic users to assume, even though it is also common sense.

*bang*

He summoned Forneus again, and had it use Bufu on Mamizou (Pyro Jack). Another chunk of ice formed, then shattered on the jack-o-lantern Persona, knocking it down (55% reduced to 50% health for Mamizou).

*1 more*

And another attack (50% reduced to 45% health for Mamizou).

As the tanuki youkai helped herself back up, she muttered profanity.

"Damn it, why didn't you get knocked down!" Mamizou (Pyro Jack) asked him.

"Forneus's weakness isn't Agi skills; it's a different element" he shot back.

Upset over the ironic twist, the tanuki youkai morphed again, into Sylph.

She used Sylph's power to use a Garu skill. A small gust of wind picked up the Wild Card and dropped him on the ground, but not knocked down (72% reduced to 69% health for Damion).

This time, the necromancer's head flashed again and he summoned the Persona he just equipped. The Persona in question was a knight on a dark horse wielding a lance. It was Berith.

The Persona began its attack by throwing its lance at the tanuki youkai, dealing light damage, and with the rare critical hit (69% spent 2% leaving 67% health for Damion) (45% reduced to 40% health for Mamizou). This also knocked her down.

*1 more*

He went with a regular attack with his fists, slamming a fist into Mamizou (Izanagi)'s face (40% reduced to 37% health for Mamizou).

Now the tanuki youkai was royally pissed.

Mamizou (Sylph) shape-shifted again, only into his Forneus. Like the other Personas she shape-shifted to, it had a leaf on its head.

Using the power of her shape-shift's form, she replicated the spell he used on her before; Bufu. A chunk of ice formed, then shattered on the necromancer's arm, dealing some damage (67% reduced to 64% health for Damion).

"Too bad, its weakness isn't ice, like you hoped!" the necromancer jeered.

His turn again, and this time he changed his Persona to Izanagi once more.

Upon doing so, he made it cast Zio on the tanuki youkai, which knocked her down (37% reduced to 32% health for Mamizou).

*1 more*

This time, he had Izanagi cast Rakunda on the tanuki youkai.

Mamizou (Forneus) got back up and ready to fight, but shape-shifted to Sylph.

Upon doing so, she had it use Garu on the necromancer. A small gust of wind picked the necromancer and flung him in the air for a moment, where he crashed on the ground, knocked down (64% reduced to 59% health for Damion).

*1 more*

"Take THAT, you damn Nazi!" Nue cheered for her friend from the sideline.

Mamizou (Sylph) used the Garu skill once more on him (59% reduced to 54% health for Damion).

The Persona user got back on his feet, ready to continue the battle.

Summoning his Izanagi again, he had it use Zio on her once more. The electric shock from the Persona knocked down the tanuki youkai in its current form, which also had the same combat properties as the real one (37% reduced to 30% health for Mamizou).

*1 more*

He fired his evoker once more, thus summoning Izanagi once more for another Zio skill (30% reduced to 23% health for Mamizou).

The tanuki youkai got back up and ready to fight.

Mamizou (Sylph) was unsure about why he didn't change Personas. He knew she was going to use Garu on him while he has Izanagi equipped. She was, right now, getting exhausted from battling.

She also realized, right now, the answer to her question before about how her shape-shifting power took some unexpected properties. It was that she had the ability to copy Personas she saw. Her problem, however, is not knowing those Personas' skills.

Realizing this, she took to battle again.

Mamizou (Sylph) cast the Garu skill on him once more, also knocking him down (54% reduced to 49% health for Damion).

*1 more*

And again (49% reduced to 44% health for Damion).

He got back up, ready to fight.

"_Time to end this battle quickly_" Damion thought.

The young man summoned his Persona again, using the same tactic as last turn; zio on the tanuki youkai, knocking her down (23% reduced to 16% health for Mamizou).

*1 more*

Another zio attack from his Persona on her (16% reduced to 9% health for Mamizou).

As Mamizou (Sylph) got back up, she started to show signs of exhaustion.

"I… won't lose" the tanuki grumbled.

Like before, she used her form's power to use Garu skill on the necromancer, which knocked him down (44% reduced to 39% health for Damion).

*1 more*

And again (39% reduced to 34% health for Damion.)

"This is the end" he declared to Mamizou Futatsuida.

He summoned Izanagi once more for another Zio skill, knocking down the tanuki youkai, who also lost her shape-shift form. (9% reduced to 2% health for Mamizou).

*1 more*

The last zio skill used before knocking out the tanuki youkai (2% reduced to 0%).

## End battle ##

* * *

><p>Upon defeat, Mamizou Futatsuida got on her feet. She couldn't<p>

"Don't… hurt Nue-chan… please!" she pleaded.

He was taken aback by this.

"What do you mean? She called you to defend her when she didn't have all the facts about these 'shadows'" he shot back.

"Eh?"

For the next five minutes he summed up why he was here this morning, how Nue tackled him to let her friends run into a hornet's nest (metaphorically speaking), without knowing why he stopped her friends.

Upon hearing this, the tanuki youkai whacked Nue on the head real hard.

"Ow!"

Nue rubbed her head after being whacked by the person she called for help from.

"Nue! Don't cause misunderstandings like that!" the tanuki youkai scolded.

"Either way, Daiyousei's probably having a hard time getting those idiots out of the cave before they end up in a lot of trouble with those shadows, so I need to get in there now!" the necromancer said to them before rushing into the cave after them.

He was gone as soon as he could, and that left Nue to be scolded by her friend.

* * *

><p>## Inside cave to mausoleum ##<p>

Shou and Daiyousei were fending off the 'shadows', but just barely. Ichirin, Unzan, and Nazrin were too scared to fight, and stayed in between Daiyousei and Shou.

Daiyousei summons her Persona card and destroys it, thus summoning Pixie and commanding it to use Zio on the tiara-type shadow.

Shou, on the other hand, was using her spear.

"Jeez, what in Bishamonten's name are these things!" Shou complained as jumped up with her spear and dropped on another 'shadow'.

Daiyousei didn't answer at first due to another 'shadow' about to attack her. When she defeated it, she then answered Shou's question.

"I think these might be the 'shadows' from the paper; the ones that Persona users are only able to fend off!" the green-haired fairy replied.

"'Shadows'? The new youkai? They're a pain to deal with!" Shou admitted.

It was at this time that the necromancer arrived.

"I'd have been here helping out if she didn't stop to understand the whole situation" the necromancer panted as he arrived.

The shadows, upon noticing him, fled deeper into the cave.

"Damn it… *pant*" he cursed again.

With the 'shadows' fleeing, this meant a moment of ease for them all.

This was good because now the investigation group could relax and collect their thoughts.

The good news was that the group was safe and sound, save for the Shou and Daiyousei who took some damage from the 'shadows'.

"So… what did I miss?" he asked them between deep breaths.

Ichirin spoke up first, sharing what happened.

"Those 'shadows' whatever… I think they scared away the divine spirits" Ichirin began.

She went on to explain her idea of the situation.

Her theory was this: The divine spirits were doing their job keeping the mausoleum sealed until the shadows appeared. Some of said spirits fled in desperation to find help, which everyone in Gensokyo thought was mischief. When Reimu, Marisa, Sanae, and Youmu investigated, they couldn't handle the 'shadows' until Sanae awoke to her Personas when they were cornered. This led to Sanae being the one to take care of the 'shadows'. As the divine spirits fled, the seal on Miko and her friends weakened until they were unable to keep them sealed.

"I know 'shadows' tend to avoid normal people, but they do get restless sometimes and attack normal people. As for the divine spirits, I know next to nothing about them. From what you told me, they were the seal on Miko and her friends, and the seal weakened as they fled" Damion muttered.

"So then, tell me… Why didn't you help the usual problem-solving group if you had the power to fight off these 'shadows'?" Ichirin asked him sternly, "Unzan also would like to know."

"Unzan?"

"My familiar"

He looked around for anything, but couldn't find anything that looked like an animal or human.

"Where is she?" he asked bluntly.

Ichirin pointed at her familiar, which was a cloud-like youkai. She then added, "Unzan's a 'he', not a 'she'."

"That cloud…?" he sighed, "Fine, I didn't know about the 'shadows' being there until Yukari broke the news to me. As for what's going on regarding the divine spirits, that's something I have no clue about"

Unzan made the face of annoyance upon being called a 'cloud'.

"Hey! Unzan is not a cloud! He's a Nyuudou!" Ichirin scolded the young man for her own familiar.

"Alright, whatever. You found out what happened? Good. Please leave before the 'shadows' come back in larger numbers" the necromancer muttered.

He then picked up Daiyousei in an arm-over-shoulder-support type of carry. The fairy in question was exhausted and tired.

"Let's get back to Hijiri-sama" Shou suggested, "I think we learned all we can for right now, but I don't know about Miko and her friends.

The group agreed and left the cave together.

* * *

><p>## Outside the cave ##<p>

This is where the Persona users and the Myouren Temple group went their separate ways.

The necromancer called out for the gap hag, only to not get an answer.

"_Just great… a friend is injured, and she's off sleeping or something-_"

He was cut off in mid-thought when a gap suddenly opened in front of him. It wasn't Yukari who popped out, but Ran Yakumo. Behind her was Chen.

"Just when I thought she was going to ditch me…" he remarked sarcastically.

"My apologies, but Yukari-sama is resting. I have similar powers as her, but not as strong as hers. Is there something that needs to be done, Damion-kun?" Ran asked him politely.

"Sorry, but I need to get Daiyousei to Eientei fast; she's suffered a LOT of damage for first-time Persona users" he told the gap hag's shikigami.

"Ah, Onii-chan!" Chen almost squealed upon seeing him.

Using his free hand, he face-palmed.

"Anything but 'onii-chan'" he grumbled.

"Eh?"

He sighed and lowered himself to Chen's level.

"Just call me 'bro' (Aniki)" he asked the nekomata youkai.

Hearing this, Chen jumped for joy. Ran noticed Chen's happiness at seeing him again, but then noticed him trying to make himself sound like a badass.

"I see you have a soft spot for children and cute things" Ran teased, smiling all the while.

His face turned red from embarrassment and retorted, "Not cute things, just kids!"

Chen then noticed the injured Daiyousei he was carrying.

"Ah, Dai-chan! What happened!"

Chen's happiness turned to worry when he saw the fairy.

"Relax, Chen-chan. She's been through a LOT of pain for a new Persona user. That's why I'm trying to get to Eirin-san pronto" he told the nekomata.

Ran nodded in understanding, but Chen seemed more focused on her friend.

"I'll open a gap to get there, and you can explain everything there"

Just like that, Ran opened another gap that led to the location he was trying to get to.

The three of them (one carrying a fourth) quickly entered the gap that took them into the mansion hidden in the bamboo forest.

* * *

><p>## Eientei ##<p>

The time now was around 10:22 A.M. by human standards.

The room Damion and Daiyousei were in earlier had a gap suddenly open. Eirin was in the room as well, so she set up shop in this room, almost as if anticipating or expecting them to return through a gap.

Out came Ran Yakumo first, followed by Chen, and then the necromancer who was carrying the fairy.

"Place her on the bed for now, Damion-kun" Ran suggested to him.

He did as suggested and helped set the fairy down in bed.

Once Daiyousei was set in bed, he plopped onto the ground next to the bed, sitting on the floor.

"Oh, you're back" Eirin said to them from her temporary workstation in the room.

Ran and Damion turned to look at her as though they were expected.

"Dai-chan's hurt a lot more than usual for first-time Persona users. I admit guilt for having her do something I was supposed to do, but… damn it. If that illusionist would've listened, Dai-chan wouldn't have been this hurt protecting the Myouren Temple investigators" he cursed softly.

"Damion-kun" Ran began, "I saw her battling from the side, and she was using her Persona extensively; she relied on Pixie's electric magic on most of the shadows"

"That's not good; Persona users need to be mindful of their spirit points to use skills, or their health for physical attack skills. From what I know about her Pixie, I'd say she exhausted her spirit points, and couldn't hold up for long against the 'shadows'" Damion replied.

"Her 'magic' for Personas?" Ran asked.

"Speaking in analogies, that'd be pretty accurate. Though her health is at relatively low; around that of almost fatal" he added.

Eirin entered the conversation.

"Then I suppose it's my turn to look after her. You'll be paying for her treatment since you made her do something that difficult" the pharmacist said with a sadistic smile.

The young man paled at this.

"Give me a break! That Nue wouldn't let me warn them about the 'shadows', and I was afraid for their safety! What else was I supposed to do?" was his response.

"Is this true, Ran-san?" Eirin asked the nine-tailed fox youkai.

Ran simply nodded in agreement.

Chen was still focused on Daiyousei to notice the conversation between her master, the pharmacist, and the young man.

"Regardless, she needs rest and treatment; you still have to pay for her treatment" Eirin told the necromancer.

"Dare I ask how much that'll cost?" he asked Eirin.

"Fortunately, fairies are cheap to treat, so about 5000 Yen should cover the cost of medication to heal her wounds, and maybe a day of rest" the pharmacist told her.

"5000 Yen? That's do-able" the necromancer sighed with relief.

He took out his wallet and paid her the amount requested.

Once the transaction was done, Eirin began work on treating the fairy immediately.

"Now then, Damion-kun, I need to talk to you about Chen-chan" Ran said to him, pulling him to the other side of the room.

On the other side of the room, somewhat out of earshot of the nekomata, Ran and the necromancer started talking about the nekomata in question.

"So, what is it?" he asked.

"About her condition, do you suppose she's ready to handle her Persona?"

Upon hearing that, he looked to the side to see Chen.

There wasn't anything wrong with her physical condition from what he observed.

"I hope so. I might be wrong about recovery rates, but we could give it a shot another time; I'm already late on my promise to Kaguya…sama" he said to the gap hag's shikigami.

Hearing this, Ran nodded.

"Alright, I'll stop by tomorrow with Chen to discuss her training"

Upon agreement, the nine-tail fox youkai called for Chen and opened a gap to who-knows-where.

Chen, upon being called, slowly followed her master into the gap. She did, though, wave to the necromancer on her way to the gap.

"_Now to keep my promise_" Damion thought to himself as he left to the living room.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER<p>

(A/Ns: Some notes at the end to clear up a few things so I don't have to repeat myself:

(1): (Persona fans) Had to bump the P4 version's basic Pixie to around level 14 average with skills to match I know it's odd, but give me a break; OC can't fight EVERY battle alone, can he? Well, not at his level… and even then, not for too long. Even then, it'll get better skills as it levels. Call it the 'teammate' version of the Pixie where it learns skills as it grows instead of stop learning skills at a certain level.

(2): (For both audiences) To avoid confusion for THIS chapter, 'Kat' is Nue Houjou's illusion as seen by OC. It's Nue, but the OC doesn't know this until after he realizes the illusion. Kat is yet another OC I own, but doesn't appear in this fic.

(3): (For both audiences) During battle, Mamizou (PERSONA) indicate Mamizou's form. It will also mean her combat properties match the Persona's at the level where that Persona learns all of its moves.

(4): Unlike another OC of mine, Damion CANNOT obtain JUSTICE arcana Personas.

(5): (For Touhou fans) Buffs/debuffs affect skills and stats by a third as long as the buff/debuff is active. Countering buffs/debuffs is simple; -unda debuffs attack, defense, or agility while –kaja buffs the mentioned stats (Tarunda debuff counters Tarukaja buff for example). Dekunda/Dekaja (Debuff or Buff respectively) negates their respective bonus/detriment… This bonus/detriment comes after resist/weak is calculated.

(6): (Touhou Fans) I'm going to stick with Persona 4 stats as close as I can for Persona skills, strength/resistance, etc. as much as possible, but some Personas may not exist in P4, so I'll use P3 stats instead if that's the case. Even though Forneus uses ice, it is NOT weak to fire in P4 (This variation used here); some persona's skills and weaknesses don't match up elementally. Forneus's weakness is electricity, Zio. Berith isn't weak to bufu, it's weak to wind.)


End file.
